FIR filed against two bankers after 64L in pledged gold vanishes

Rajkot: Two employees of an Indian Bank branch in Rajkot have been booked for misappropriating gold worth Rs 64 lakh that was pledged by two borrowers.Ghanshyam Jha, an assistant general manager with Indian Bank, registered a complaint at A Division police station against Shruti Shakhare and Vishnu Ilayath. Both were facing an internal inquiry and had been transferred to a branch in Chennai after the theft came to light in March. According to the FIR, on March 17 bank officials from Mumbai arrived for inspection of the branch. During their inspection, only 45 of 47 gold pouches were found in the locker, indicating that two pouches were missing. The matter was immediately reported to the Mumbai and Rajkot zonal offices.The locker containing pledged gold jewellery could only be opened using two keys, both of which were handled by the two accused. The master key of the gold locker was kept with Shakhare. All keys were stored in a pouch in her custody. The opening and closing of the locker and vault, as well as the handling of gold jewellery, was carried out by Shakhare and Ilayath. Whenever either was on leave, the locker keys were handed over to the other.Further verification revealed that both customers were sanctioned loans on Sep 27, 2024, against gold. During internal inquiries, Shakhare and Ilayath, who were responsible for the locker keys, said the keys may have been accessed by someone without their knowledge. Records showed Shakhare was on leave from Jan 31 to Feb 16, 2025, during which she handed over charge and the keys to Ilayath. He also denied any knowledge of the missing gold. Based on the findings of the internal inquiry, the complaint alleges that during their tenure, Shakhare and Ilayath misused their access to the locker, removed the gold parcels and committed criminal breach of trust involving property under their control. Police registered the case and further investigation is underway.