Bank Manager’s Locker Robbed, Bank Staff Stole Gold From Locker of their Manager
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In a major theft case in Bengaluru, police have arrested two people for stealing gold worth ₹16 lakh from a bank locker. The incident came to light after a complaint was filed by a bank manager who discovered that valuable items had gone missing from his personal locker.
Locker Theft Discovered Months Later
On January 18, 2025, a bank manager from Byadarahalli filed a complaint at the Basaveshwaranagar Police Station. The manager, who works at a branch in Basaveshwaranagar, had been using a bank locker to store gold ornaments, a chequebook, educational certificates, and other important documents.
The locker was last checked in May 2024, and everything was in place at that time. However, when the manager opened the locker again on December 30, 2024, he found that 200 to 250 grams of gold ornaments were missing. Since the locker room was only accessible to bank employees, suspicion naturally fell on the internal staff. This detail was included in the police complaint.
The suspects have been identified as Aishwarya, 26, and Harshith, 27, colleagues at a bank in Basaveshwar Nagar. Interestingly, they stole the valuables from the deposit locker of their own bank manager.
The bank manager filed a police complaint in December 2024, claiming that his own safety locker had been accessed by someone within the bank and gold jewellery was stolen. The police launched an investigation and focused solely on the bank’s employees as the locker had not been broken open, but accessed using a genuine key.
Investigations revealed that the bank manager usually kept the safety locker key in his wallet, and it had gone missing, while the second key — typically held by the bank for security reasons — remained intact in its designated place.
Police Investigation Uncovers Insider Role
The police began a thorough investigation, using multiple sources of information including technical evidence and local informants. Their efforts led them to a suspect living in NGOS Colony, Kamalanagar. The suspect was taken into custody on March 20.
The bank had five employees, and the police interrogated all of them, but initially found no leads. They then obtained their phone numbers and conducted technical analyses, including call detail and message pattern checks.
“During the technical analysis, we found some suspicious messaging patterns between the suspects, and on the same day, a series of calls were exchanged between them. When we questioned them about certain leads we had gathered, they couldn’t provide convincing answers and eventually confessed,” an investigator told.
The suspects revealed that they were facing financial problems at home and needed a substantial sum of money to resolve them. This drove them to plan the theft by accessing the bank locker and stealing valuables.
Further investigations revealed that the suspects were aware that their manager kept a safety locker at the bank and usually carried the key in his wallet. Last year, when the manager stepped out for lunch, leaving his wallet behind, the duo discreetly took the key and replaced the wallet without arousing suspicion.
They waited a few more days, and when they came across a Bescom notification about a scheduled power outage for maintenance, they planned to access the safety locker, knowing the CCTV cameras would be disabled.
On the same day, when the power went off and even the UPS was drained, the suspects tactically opened the safety locker and made away with the valuables, police said.
During questioning, the man confessed to the theft. He revealed that he had carried out the crime with help from a female colleague, who was also working at the bank. According to the confession, the duo used bank keys to access the locker, steal the gold, and then relock it to make it seem untouched.
The stolen ornaments were sold at a jewelry shop in Agrahara Dasarahalli. On March 21, the primary accused was presented in court and remanded to police custody for nine days. Later, on March 29, he was sent to judicial custody.
Female Accused Granted Bail, Police Recover Stolen Gold
The female bank employee, who had helped in the theft, was granted anticipatory bail on April 15. She is said to be cooperating with the investigation.
A major breakthrough came on May 13, when the police recovered 170 grams of gold ornaments from the jewelry shop where the stolen items had been sold. The estimated value of the recovered gold is around ₹16 lakh.
Investigation Led by Senior Officers
The entire investigation was supervised by senior officials, including Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Division) Girish S., IPS, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Vijayanagar Sub-Division) Chandan Kumar N. The field-level investigation was carried out by Inspector Chikkaswamy and the staff of the Basaveshwaranagar Police Station.
