Ahmedabad: The city police have expanded their investigation into the alleged Rs 8.7 crore embezzlement at a Bank of Baroda (BoB) currency chest in Kalupur, with officials now examining whether the fraud was carried out over several months and if other bank staff members may have had knowledge of the irregularities. The probe centres on allegations that missing cash was concealed through falsified records uploaded to the Reserve Bank of India’s e-Kuber system.

The alleged fraud came to light during an internal audit conducted after joint custodian Harshsiddh Kadiyar stopped reporting for duty. According to the complaint filed by the branch chief manager at Kalupur police station, Kadiyar had initially sought leave on April 13 citing health issues and later extended his absence. Despite repeated communication from bank authorities asking him to resume duty, he allegedly failed to return.

The discrepancy surfaced during a routine verification of the currency chest following a change in custodial responsibility and ahead of the retirement of a senior custodian. During the audit, officials reportedly found a shortage of Rs 8.7 crore in Rs 500 denomination notes. Police suspect the missing cash may not have disappeared in a single instance but was siphoned off gradually while official records continued to indicate that the funds remained inside the vault.

Police are scrutinising CCTV footage, cash movement records, reconciliation documents, access logs and entries linked to RBI’s e-Kuber cash management platform. It is suspected that internal records, including daily reconciliation data and Excel-based entries, may have been manipulated to falsely show the missing cash as available, allowing certificates generated for the RBI system to conceal the discrepancy.

A senior police official said cyber forensic examination of digital records and system data may be undertaken as part of the investigation into possible manipulation of documentation.

CCTV footage from January 13 that allegedly shows Kadiyar entering the branch premises in the evening. Footage reportedly captured a labourer and his son arriving shortly afterwards, with all three later seen leaving the bank carrying multiple boxes. At the time, Kadiyar had allegedly told security personnel the boxes contained scrap material meant for disposal.

The explanation has now come under suspicion, with police examining whether the movement of boxes was used to remove cash from the premises without attracting attention.

Officials later visited Kadiyar’s residence in Chandkheda and allegedly found that he and his family had vacated the property around a month earlier. Investigators suspect he may have planned his disappearance in advance, anticipating that surveillance footage could eventually be overwritten.

Multiple police teams have been deployed to trace the absconding accused. Investigation into the case is ongoing. DeshGujarat