Vadodara: A shocking security breach at a local bank has left a Vadodara family in distress after gold jewelry worth several lakhs of rupees was found missing from their safe deposit locker. The incident occurred at the Cosmos Co-operative Bank located on Waghodia Road, raising serious concerns over the safety of bank locker systems.

The victim, Narendra Shah who is NRI, visited the bank with his wife to retrieve jewelry for their daughter’s wedding, which is scheduled to take place in just two days. Upon opening locker number 12-12A, the couple immediately suspected tampering. They found that the lock on the aluminum box kept inside the locker was missing.

Valuables Gone, Silver Left Behind According to the complaint, approximately 30 to 35 tolas of gold were stolen. The missing items include:

• Gold bars and 10 gold coins.

• Bangles, chains, and pendants.

• Bracelets and “lucky” (men’s style) bracelets.

Interestingly, while all the gold items were systematically removed, the silver ornaments and silver scrap were left untouched inside the locker.

Narendra Shah has leveled serious allegations of negligence against the bank management. He claimed that when he confronted the staff, the bank manager had no clear explanation for how a locker could be accessed without breaking the main lock.

Furthermore, the victim alleged that a senior manager at the bank attempted to downplay the incident, suggesting they “settle the matter internally” rather than involving the authorities. “This is purely the bank’s negligence,” Shah stated, questioning how citizens can trust banks with their life savings if such breaches occur.

The family has formally approached the Bapod Police Station to report the theft. With the wedding only 48 hours away, the family is facing an emotional and financial crisis. The police are expected to review CCTV footage and locker access logs to identify how the locker was tampered with and whether any internal foul play was involved.

The incident has sparked a debate among local residents regarding the liability of banks in cases of locker thefts, especially when there are no visible signs of a break-in on the external locker door.

Shah had previously his bank locker in Bank of Baroda, however due to the incident of fire, he had shifted his locker to Cosmos Bank later.

The fresh incident of theft from The Cosmos Cooperative Bank locker is not first in Vadodara. Earlier on 26 August 2019, Tarsali based Ritesh Gadhiya had filed complaint in Makarpura police station for missing 19.50 tola jewelry from his Indus-Ind bank locker. Also on 17 February 2022, Manjalpur based Bharat Swamy had filed complaint over missing 50 tola jewelry from his State Bank of India (SBI) Bank locker. DeshGujarat