Mumbai police have arrested a 33-year-old State Bank of India (SBI) service manager for allegedly stealing nearly 4kg of gold jewelry worth ₹3 crore from a bank locker.
The accused, Manoj Maruti Mhaske, worked at SBI’s personal banking branch in Mulund West. Police said the branch had disbursed ₹1.94 crore in gold loans against jewelry mortgaged by customers.
Gold Kept in Locker Accessible by Two Keys
As per standard practice, the mortgaged ornament packets were stored in a locker secured by two separate keys held by Mhaske and the branch cash in-charge.
This system ensures dual custody of the gold. Each packet is sealed in the customer’s presence during mortgage.
On February 27th, the branch administrator Amit Kumar was handling the locker as Mhaske was on leave. In the evening, Kumar found 59 out of 63 gold packets missing.
Service Manager Admits to Theft, Promises to Return Gold
When confronted by Kumar, Mhaske admitted having stolen the gold for personal use. Police said he claimed to have either mortgaged or sold the gold, but would return it within 7 days.
Kumar then approached police to register a case, leading to Mhaske’s arrest. In total, police estimate 4kg gold worth nearly ₹3 crore had been stolen.
Mhaske was booked under IPC Section 409 for criminal breach of trust by a public servant. Further investigations are underway.
