MUMBAI: An employee of a logistics firm handling cash for a nationalized bank has been arrested for siphoning off Rs 19 lakh from the bank’s chest at Bandra-Kurla Complex.
He claims he was hoodwinked of Rs 10 lakh by friends when he agreed to facilitate a cash deal, and later lost another Rs 9 lakh in a desperate bid to recoup that loss. The police are unconvinced.
Nilesh Hadkar, a custodian with
Arcus Solutions which has a contract with Bank of Baroda, has been remanded in BKC police custody. Arcus ferries cash from BoB’s chest to branches and ATMs.
Hadkar, 30, who had been working with the firm for six years, took out Rs 2.26 crore from the chest on February 12 and brought it to Arcus’ office in Wadala. “It is normal practice to take cash from the bank’s chest to the logistics firm, where the notes are arranged in bundles by denomination and taken back. They are meant to be disbursed to various ATMs later,” explained an official.
The next day, Hadkar handed over a slip confirming he had deposited the Rs 2.26 crore. Later that evening, bank officials said the money had not been deposited. Hadkar’s bosses disputed it, saying they had a receipt of deposit. BoB officials met
Arvind Salunke at Arcus’ Wadala office, who showed them the receipt. When they called Hadkar for an explanation, his cellphone was not reachable.
Finally, they got in touch with him on February 15. “Hadkar arrived at the BoB office and gave Rs 2.07 crore he had kept in a locked trunk. He admitted that he had taken Rs 19 lakh and would return it soon,” said a police officer. The bank registered an FIR with BKC police, accusing Hadkar of cheating, forgery and criminal intimidation.
Last week, police arrested Hadkar. He told them that on February 12, while he was on his way to deposit the cash, his friend Vichare called him and said if Hadkar hands over Rs 10 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes, he will return the amount in Rs 100 notes, and pay Hadkar Rs 1 lakh. Hadkar said he took the bait as he wanted to get married and went to Ghatkopar. While Hadkar and Vichare, who had come with friends, were counting the cash, some of them raised an alarm of a police raid. With Hadkar distracted, they fled with the money.
He wanted to make up the loss, and jumped at the chance when a few weeks later another friend Dinesh Mehtri suggested that if he gives Rs 9 lakh, he would return Rs 19 lakh in a few days. But he disappeared with the money. “We don’t believe his story and suspect that he has stolen the money and is making up stories,” said a BKC police officer.
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