Akhilesh writes to Sitharaman; demands justice for Kanpur bank locker robbery victims

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday called for strict action against those responsible for the alleged theft of valuables worth over Rs 2.5 crore from lockers of the Central Bank of India’s Karachikhana branch in Kanpur.

He met the victims whose valuables were stolen from nine lockers of the bank. Yadav said he has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and urged her to ensure that the customers get justice and appropriate action is initiated against the guilty bank officials.

”The senior bank officers did not pay any heed to customers complaint and at least 11 lockers were found broken,” a statement issued by the party said.

Four people, including a bank manager, have been arrested in connection with the incident, police had said. At least nine customers of the bank branch had found valuables worth crores of rupees missing from their lockers, they said.

The incident came to light on March 14, when Manju Bhattacharya, one of the customers of the bank, checked her locker and found the valuables missing.

The total cost of valuables looted is estimated to be over Rs 2.5 crore, with each customer reporting losing about Rs 30 lakh in valuables from their lockers, police added.