Gold kept by customers as security against loans has allegedly gone missing from a Bank of India branch locker in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district, police said on Thursday. A total of 96 packets containing pledged gold were found missing from the strongroom locker of the bank’s Bharaul branch.
Following the discovery, the bank’s Agra regional office chief manager, Aditya Pratap Singh, lodged a formal First Information Report (FIR) at the Araon police station against three employees, including the branch manager who was in charge at the time. While the official complaint does not explicitly state the total weight or the exact market value of the missing gold items, authorities strongly suspect the value of the missing property to be worth crores of rupees.
Custodian Absence Triggers Internal Investigation
According to Firozabad Superintendent of Police Aditya Langhe, the internal crisis began unfolding after a key bank staff member and primary custodian, Dilip Kumar, went missing. Kumar, a resident of Basgaon village located in the neighboring Etawah district, had been absent from his official duties without providing any information since May 27. Because of his sudden disappearance, all routine locker-related operations and gold valuation work at the Bharaul branch ground to a halt.
When the local bank management repeatedly failed to establish contact with the missing custodian, senior officials grew suspicious of foul play and escalated the matter to the regional headquarters in Agra. In response to the alert, the regional office dispatched senior security manager Ankit, along with Sushil Kumar, the senior manager of security at the Ghiror branch, to inspect the Bharaul branch premises on June 15.
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Strongroom Opened Under Video Surveillance
Upon reaching the branch, the security team discovered that the keys to the gold locker were unavailable due to the custodian’s absence. Local police officials stated that a duplicate key had to be specially arranged to bypass the locking mechanism. The locker was subsequently opened in the presence of the bank’s designated panel advocate, Shiv Kumar Sharma, while the entire entry process was documented via continuous video recording to maintain evidence integrity. A physical verification of the contents immediately revealed that 96 distinct gold loan packets deposited by customers had been entirely cleared out from the locker.
Multiple Employees Named in Criminal Case
The police have officially registered an FIR under Section 316(5), which pertains to criminal breach of trust, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The case names three key bank officials, identified as the former branch manager Sandeep Yadav, staff officer Dilip Kumar, and credit officer-cum-staff officer Naresh Kumar, who is a resident of Hathras district.
Araon police station in-charge Rishi Kumar stated that a comprehensive criminal investigation has been formally launched to uncover the depth of the conspiracy. Specialized law enforcement teams, including the regional surveillance unit, have initiated coordinated raids at multiple suspected locations across neighboring districts to apprehend the absconding accused persons and recover the missing customer gold before it can be liquidated.
