Kanpur bank locker theft: Man arrested, valuables worth ₹1.80 crore recovered

The accused told police that he was called in to check the empty lockers in the bank and then repair one of them. In the process, he allegedly burgled two lockers in 2021 and took away valuables worth ₹1.80 crore to his house

KANPUR The police on Thursday arrested a man and recovered valuables worth ₹1.80 crore stolen from two lockers of a nationalised bank in Kidwai Nagar here in 2021. The theft came to fore on Monday when a customer visited the branch to check the locker and found it empty. The arrested man was identified as Rahul Shukla, 35, an employee of a company entrusted with the job of locker repair and maintenance, said police.

Valuables recovered from the accused. (Sourced)

Commissioner of police, BP Jogdand, said the police were writing to senior authorities of the bank against officials who showed gross negligence in handling the lockers.

Shukla told the police that he was called in to check the empty lockers in the bank and then repair one of them. In the process, he allegedly burgled two lockers in 2021 and took away valuables worth ₹1.80 crore to his house.

The police examined the CCTV footage of the last 18 months to find out that Shukla was the only person who entered the locker room apart from customers and some bank employees, said Salman Taj Patil, DCP (South).

The gold was found in his house, and he had sold some of it for ₹4 lakh to a local jeweller. The police would seek his custody remand as Shukla used to visit other banks also.

The bank, on its part, did not follow RBI guidelines that mandate repair and checking of lockers in the presence of a five-member committee comprising three bankers, a lawyer and one independent witness, Jogdand said, adding that the police team would be given a cash reward of ₹1 lakh.

Last year, employees of the same locker company had burgled 19 lockers in another nationalised bank in Karachi Khana area. This bank had compensated its customers for the loss.