India Witnesses Hullabaloo as Postal Department Issues 'Personalised' Stamps of Notorious Gangsters

Postage stamps of international gangsters Chhota Rajan and Munna Bajrangi have been printed by the Indian Postal Department in Uttar Pradesh. The stamps were also printed in Kanpur, exposing alleged negligence in the Indian government's "My Stamp" scheme. 

"My Stamp" is the brand name for personalised sheets of India Post postage stamps. The personalisation is achieved by printing a thumb nail image of the customer's photograph and logos of institutions, or images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife, or animals and birds on a selected template sheet.

The postal department issued 12 postage stamps, each with a value INR 5 ($0.06), in the name of Chhota Rajan, while the same number of stamps were also issued for Munna Bajrangi. The postal department received a fixed fee of INR 600 ($8.1) for this.

​It appears that neither of the photographs were examined nor was any certificate sought before printing the stamps with the dreaded gangsters.

"The postal department provides the facility to get the 'My Stamp' made, by submitting a form along with ID. Our employees should've been careful in verifying pics", says Himanshu Mishra, Chief Postmaster, Kanpur as the news attracts reactions from social media users.

​Former Dawood-company member Rajendra S Nikhalje, popularly known as Chhota Rajan, started working for Dawood Ibrahim in 1984 and parted ways with him following the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai. He has around 80 cases to his name.

Prem Prakash alias Munna Bajrangi was one of the most wanted gangsters in India before being gunned down by a fellow inmate at a prison in Uttar Pradesh. Munna had over 40 cases of murder, extortion, and kidnapping to his name.