Gold jewellery worth over Rs5 million found missing from bank locker

KANPUR: A woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur was left shocked after finding jewellery worth Rs50 lakh missing from her bank locker, where she and her husband had reportedly kept the valuables in 2003.

Rashmi Arora had not accessed the locker for several years after her husband’s death, having moved from Kanpur’s Swaroop Nagar to Lucknow to live with her daughter and son-in-law.

According to an NDTV report, Arora and her husband had opened a locker at the erstwhile State Bank of Travancore (SBT) in 2003 and deposited jewellery worth around Rs50 lakh. The couple reportedly visited the branch periodically to check on their valuables.

After her husband died, however, Arora stopped visiting the branch regularly. She believed the jewellery remained secure in the locker despite her prolonged absence.

Around four months ago, Arora visited the bank with her younger daughter and learned that State Bank of Travancore had ceased to exist as a separate entity following its merger with State Bank of India.

She later returned to the branch with the relevant documents. The branch manager informed her that locker charges had continued to be deducted automatically from her account over the years, eventually reducing the account balance to zero.

On July 21, Arora deposited money into the account linked to the locker and had it reactivated. However, she did not have the locker key with her at the time.

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She returned a week later, on July 27, with the key and opened locker No. 23, which had been allotted to her.

To her shock, the locker was completely empty and all the jewellery was missing.

Arora subsequently approached the police and lodged a complaint against bank employees and management, alleging that her valuables had been misappropriated.

Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the branch manager and other staff members, according to the report.

Investigators are examining locker records, bank documents and CCTV footage from the branch to determine how the jewellery went missing and who may be responsible. The investigation is ongoing.