The assistant manager of Indian Bank – a nationalised bank, has been arrested for allegedly stealing nearly 2.7 kg of gold jewellery from the bank lockers. The incident took place at the bank’s Girinagar branch in Bengaluru. The officer pledged the gold to use the proceeds for online betting and gambling.
The accused has been identified as Kiran Kumar, who works as an assistant manager at the Indian Bank. He allegedly misused his access to the locker keys and, during the branch manager’s absence, began siphoning off small quantities of pledged gold over a period of time.
The fraud came to light on January 2 when customers visited the Indian Bank branch to retrieve their pledged gold. During verification of lockers, discrepancies were noticed in several packets. A detailed inspection revealed that gold ornaments were partially missing in 21 packets and completely missing in three packets.
Preliminary investigation found that 2,783 grams of gold, valued at around ₹4 crore, had been stolen. During internal inquiry, Kiran Kumar allegedly confessed to the crime. Police said he pawned the stolen gold at different shops and used the money for online betting and gambling activities.
Based on a complaint, a case has been registered at the Girinagar Police Station. The accused has been arrested, and about 1.2 kilos of gold has been recovered so far. Efforts are underway to recover the remaining gold valuables as the financiers are not cooperative and the police will approach the court concerned to get necessary directions in this regard, officials said.
More details will be released soon.
