Rs 50 Lakh yellow metal(Gold) gone missing from bank locker

Fifty Lacs worth of family jewellery, mostly yellow metal, claimed to be belonging to a businessman of this town, kept safely inside a bank locker since 1998, went missing. An FIR for cheating, bank fraud and stolen was registered in the Sadar police station here on Tuesday, informed the victim here today. A case under section 409, 420, 120B of IPC is noted at the Sadar police Shimla.

The mysterious disappearance of gold worth Rs 50 lakh kept in the locker of a bank in the capital of Himachal has created a stir. Pertinent to mention that bank lockers are considered the most safest place to keep marriage/family jewellery in our Nation. However, this incidence has shaken the old time belief of millions of bank customers in the state.

The victims have lodged an FIR against a bank customer and Bank Manager of Bank of Baroda near Shimla, in the matter.

The Police has now started investigating.  In the preliminary investigation, it is being perceived that there may be a possibility of connivance of any employee or officer of the bank, in the matter.

The businessman Ashutosh Sood has said in the complaint given to the police that he had hired bank locker number 77 in BOB bank branch of Shimla in year 1998. However, in the year 2017, the bank officials told him that the said locker number had been changed from 77 to 177.

Thereafter since the year 2017, he was operating bank locker number 177, issued by the bank. Somehow, the bank locker had not been opened/operated since the year 2019, said Ashutosh. And when, recently, on July 30, he went to the bank branch to inspect his locker, the key of the locker could not match. When he contacted the bank officials about the issue, was informed, that the locker number 177 was not on his name. As per bank records it displayed the name of one, Gurpreet Singh Virak, as owner of the said locker. Not only this, it was also revealed that Gurpreet Singh had broken the bank locker in the presence of bank officials stating that the keys of the said locker were missing. Whereafter Singh had also taken away all belongings of the said locked.

Now the subject of investigation is that if the locker number 177 was allotted in the name of Ashutosh, then who allotted it to Gurpreet Singh in the bank records and how. Moreover, report of keys being lost, by Gurpreet Singh (claimed to be owner of locker as per bank record) and then breaking the locker and taking away the goods is also under scanner, now.

At present, complainant Ashutosh Sood alleges that the goods kept in locker number 177 belonged to him. Sood has said that he had kept jewelery worth 50 lakhs in the same. Alleging that with the connivance of the bank management, his marriage and family jewellery, kept in the allotted locker was given to another person Gurpreet Singh. He said that all this would not have been possible without the connivance of the bank management.