Ujjain police swiftly arrested five individuals, including an insider, for stealing nearly Rs 5 crore worth of gold and Rs 8 lakh in cash from the SBI Mahananda Nagar branch. The crime occurred during the intervening night of September 1 and 2, but police apprehended the culprits within hours of the theft being reported on Tuesday.
The mastermind behind the heist, Jai Bhavsar, a contractual employee of the bank, confessed to planning the theft weeks in advance. He had deliberately set fire to the bank’s CCTV system about eight days prior, disabling surveillance and forcing the branch to move operations upstairs. This left the lockers on the ground floor vulnerable, with poor security and no night guard posted.
Jai recruited his accomplices as laborers during the shifting process, allowing them to survey the premises and understand locker arrangements and keys, facilitating the break-in. On the night of the incident, Jai and his associate Abdullah entered the branch after midnight, unlocking the premises. Within 35 minutes, they looted valuables from 19 lockers belonging to nearly 75 customers.
The stolen gold was taken to a hotel near Danigate, where it was divided among the gang, while the cash was partly used to buy a luxury car, which was allegedly part of a plan to escape to Nepal.
The police recovered all the stolen gold and cash from the accused. The bank clarified that only gold loan lockers were targeted, and other customer lockers remained safe.
Following the incident, SBI suspended the branch manager, service manager, and cashier for negligence. The Ujjain police held a meeting with over 100 bank officials, emphasizing the need for stringent security audits, regular CCTV checks, alarm system upgrades, and proper guard deployment.
Senior officers stressed enhanced vigilance and adherence to security protocols across all branches to prevent similar crimes in the future.
