Mumbai: Banker held for stealing Rs 43 lakh

The accused further claimed that he had distributed the money to poor people, who were falling short of funds for treatment at Wadia, KEM and Tata hospital. (Representational Image)

A 55-year-old cash officer of the State Bank of India (SBI) has allegedly confessed that he had stolen Rs 43.55 lakh from the bank’s vault and distributed the money among the poor, who had come to receive treatment in three hospitals in the city.

According to police, the accused, Hemant Jadhav, who was employed as a cash officer with the Lower Parel branch of SBI, was arrested on September 15, after the branch manager had lodged a complaint with the N M Joshi police station. However, before his arrest, the accused made a video in which he allegedly confessed to the crime, following which he posted the same video in his office WhatsApp group.

Being the cash officer, Jadhav was responsible for collecting the cash at the end of the day and keeping it safely in the bank’s vault after updating their system. Taking advantage of his position, the accused, allegedly stole the money from time to time.

The complainant, Deepak Desai, in his statement to police said the cash officer had siphoned off the cash between April 1, 2018 and September 14, 2018. “An audit was conducted on March 31 and till then there was no misappropriation,” said an officer.

The incident came to light on the day when Jadhav opted to take a day off. An officer said, “On September 13, a woman bank official was given Jadhav’s responsibility of collecting the cash. While she was updating the system, she learnt that the amount was much less than the amount mentioned in the system.”

The bank manager reported NM Joshi police station and registered a case.

“Jadhav was then brought in for interrogation, before which he allegedly made a confessional video and posted it in the group,” said an investigator.

The accused further claimed that he had distributed the money to poor people, who were falling short of funds for treatment at Wadia, KEM and Tata hospital. However, police are verifying his claims. “He further said that he spent the rest of the amount in bars and gambling,” added an officer.

Senior police Inspector Pandit Thorat from NM Joshi police station confirmed the arrest.
Messages, calls and emails sent by The Indian Express to the Sate Bank of India spokesperson remained unanswered.