Bank custodian held in Ahmedabad for stealing Rs 8.7 crore from chest

Ahmedabad: Kalupur police on Friday arrested Harsiddh Kadiyar, a joint custodian at Bank of Baroda’s Kalupur branch, for allegedly stealing Rs 8.7 crore from the bank’s currency chest. He has been remanded in police custody until May 27. The bank’s chief manager had filed a complaint with Kalupur police on Friday.

Kadiyar, a resident of Chandkheda, went on leave on April 13, citing health issues and never returned. He ignored repeated calls and emails from the bank, according to the complaint. When a new custodian took charge and conducted an internal audit, officials found 174 reams of Rs 500 notes missing from the currency chest. Each ream contained 10 bundles of 100 notes, adding up to Rs 8.7 crore.

To hide the shortage, Kadiyar had allegedly been uploading fake balance certificates to the RBI’s e-Kuber portal, making records appear normal. During interrogation, Kadiyar told police that he had bought a house worth over Rs 2 crore in the Sola area, given some cash to a woman employee, purchased a tempo and invested in cryptocurrency.

Hirendra Chaudhary, assistant commissioner of police (D Division), said, “Police are still verifying these claims, including tracing Kadiyar’s crypto wallet.”

CCTV footage reviewed during the inquiry showed the accused entering the branch on Jan 13. A labourer and his son entered shortly afterwards. The footage shows the three individuals later leaving the branch carrying multiple boxes. They informed the security personnel that the boxes contained scrap material meant for disposal.