BoB Bapatla: Customers Gold Worth Rs 2.23 Crore Missing
GUNTUR: In another incident of fraud in a Bank of Baroda branch in Bapatla in Guntur district, more than 5.08 kg of gold worth Rs 2.23 crore had gone missing. An employee working with the bank was also found to be absconding. As per reports, a temporary employee named P Sumanthraj had allegedly pledged 80 percent of the gold worth Rs 60 lakh with a private finance company. Police have arrested two suspects in connection with this case and are questioning them about his whereabouts. The incident came to light on Monday after the Bank officials noticed the gold missing during an audit which was conducted on September 2. The regional manager of the bank Vidyasagar on Sunday lodged a police complaint, DSP A. Srinivasa Rao stated. After getting to know about the theft, customers rushed to the bank to check whether if their gold was safe.
"We are working with special teams to locate the accused Sumantraj, who was said to be the main accused in the case," he said. CIs P Krishnaiah, Kadapa Srinivasa Reddy, SIs Mohammad Rafi, and Venkata Prasad are investigating the matter.
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As per reliable sources, the accused himself revealed about the theft. The bank usually conducts a branch audit on gold jewelry two to three times a year. It was announced on the 1st of this month that the authorities were coming to conduct an audit. After getting to know about the audit Sumantraj absented himself from the office on the first and second of September. Worried that they would find out about the missing gold, he informed a bank employee on the third day through WhatsApp that he had taken gold jewelry for his mother’s operation. In another message, he revealed the names of two people who had helped him to pawn the jewelry in a private finance company.
A total of Rs 2.23 crore worth of jewelry was reported stolen and a complaint was lodged with the police. The bank officials then informed the regional manager and launched a departmental inquiry.
