Dehradun: A surprising incident came to the fore in Uttarakhand when gold and silver jewellery worth approximately Rs 56 lakhs allegedly went missing from a bank locker at the main branch of Bank of Baroda (BOB) in Dehradun.
The jewellery had been kept in the locker since 1995, but the account holder had not accessed it since 2018. The disappearance has led to a case being filed against several bank officials, including the current and former branch managers.
Locker owner accessed the locker until 2018
86-year-old Sushila Devi, a resident of Ghosi Gali, Dehradun, opened a savings account and a locker at the Bank of Baroda’s main branch on Old Survey Road in 1995. The locker, numbered 38, was used to store her family’s precious jewellery, which included gold ornaments worth Rs 55 lakhs and silver ornaments worth Rs 1 lakh. Sushila Devi regularly accessed the locker until 2018, after which she stopped due to her age complications.
Matter came to the fore in November last year
On November 26, last year, Sushila Devi’s son, Anoop Kumar, who is a co-account holder, visited the bank to access the locker. To his shock, bank officials informed him that the locker had been broken open by former employees in 2022. The officials assured him that the jewellery was safe and had been moved to a secure location. They asked him to return the next day to collect the items.
Attempts to retrieve the jewellery
The following day, Anoop Kumar, accompanied by his two sons, returned to the bank. However, branch manager Mohit Kumar and regional bank officer Arvind Joshi asked them to come back on November 28. When the family returned, the bank officials refused to show the file related to the breaking of the locker and sent them away empty-handed. On November 29, Mohit Kumar and Arvind Joshi informed the family that the jewellery was missing and had likely been stolen. Later, this family sent a legal notice to the bank in this concern. Despite sending a legal notice to the bank officials on December 12, 2024, the family received no response.
Police complaint
Following the incident, Sushila Devi filed a complaint with the police. Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh instructed the Dalanwala Kotwali Police to register a case against the current branch manager, regional manager, other colleagues, and former bank officials. Dalanwala Kotwali in-charge Inspector Manoj Nainwal confirmed that a case had been registered in connection with incident. After being contacted SHO Kotwali told to News9live, “We have registered a FIR and investigation is going on in this case.”
This incident has raised serious concerns about the security of valuables kept in bank lockers. As the investigation progresses, the focus remains on identifying the culprits and recovering the stolen jewellery. The family hopes that justice will be served, and such incidents will not be repeated in the future.
