Gold Worth Crores Missing from Bank Locker in Uttar Pradesh, Three Booked

A disturbing case of gold theft has emerged in Uttar Pradesh, where a significant quantity of jewelry, pledged by customers as collateral for loans, has gone missing from a bank vault. Authorities report that the incident occurred at the Bharaul branch of the Bank of India, located in the Firozabad district.

Investigation Into Missing Gold Valuables

The disappearance of these assets was brought to light following suspicious circumstances surrounding the bank's operations. According to official reports, 96 packets containing pledged gold were discovered to be absent from the bank's secure storage. The investigation began after Aditya Pratap Singh, the chief manager at the Agra regional office, filed a formal complaint at the Araon police station.

The situation escalated when a staff member and key custodian of the locker, identified as Dilip Kumar, failed to report for duty since May 27 without providing any official notification. This prolonged and unexplained absence halted routine operations involving the bank's lockers, ultimately prompting the regional office to launch an internal probe. Subsequently, Ankit, a senior security manager, along with Sushil Kumar from the Ghiror branch, were dispatched to conduct an assessment of the facility on June 15.

Legal Action and Search Operations

To verify the contents of the vault, officials arranged for a duplicate key to be created. The locker was officially opened in the presence of the bank's panel advocate, Shiv Kumar Sharma, with the entire procedure documented via video recording. This inspection confirmed the loss of 96 loan packets, sparking a major investigation into the gold theft incident.

While the exact weight and total monetary value of the stolen items remain unconfirmed in the initial police report, authorities suspect the loss to be valued at several crores of rupees. Consequently, an FIR has been registered under Section 316(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to criminal breach of trust. The case has been filed against the former branch manager Sandeep Yadav, staff officer Dilip Kumar, and credit officer Naresh Kumar.

Rishi Kumar, the in-charge of the Araon police station, stated that intensive search operations are currently underway. Specialized teams, including surveillance units, have initiated coordinated raids across multiple locations in an effort to locate the accused individuals and facilitate the recovery of the missing gold assets.

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