Mumbai: Customer loses valuables worth Rs 52 lakh from locker of a nationalised bank

Representation image. File pic

A theft case was registered at Kandivali police station after a customer lost her valuables worth Rs 52 lakh from a locker of a nationalised bank located in Kandivali.

The complainant is a 62-year-old woman. The incident took place within the past three months and was discovered only last month, police officials said. The absence of CCTV cameras in the locker room has made the investigation challenging.

According to the police sources, the complainant had visited the bank in December 2023 to transfer valuables between her locker and a family member's locker within the same bank. "Access to a bank locker requires two sets of keys - one with the locker owner and the other with the bank," noted a police officer. It is possible that the complainant may have inadvertently left her key behind, leading to her locker being left unlocked. When she needed to access her locker again, she found that the key was missing from her residence.

Upon visiting the bank, the customer was shocked to find her locker was unlocked and all her valuables, amounting to Rs 52 lakh were missing. The absence of CCTV cameras in the locker room has made the investigation challenging. The police are currently exploring all possible leads, including the potential involvement of someone within the bank.

A theft case under section 380 of IPC has been lodged at the Kandivali police station, and the cops are investigating the case.

In another incident last, a 61-year old customer who had kept the valuables in a nationalized bank in Kandivali, took the valuables home and kept in a travel bag inside her bedroom.

The customer was residing with her 85-year old father and had a care taker who was residing with them. On 28 February, she realised the jewellery was missing from her bag, following to which she filed a complaint at Kandivali police station.

Meanwhile, a State Bank of India (SBI) staffer and one more person were arrested for allegedly stealing 4 kilograms of gold worth Rs 3 crore from the lender's locker, a Mumbai police official said on Monday.