THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Daltonganj, September 1: The Daltonganj branch of the PNB is in muddy waters following the registration of a criminal case against two of its officials and two others – a woman and her son.
Palamu SP Reeshma Ramesan is said to be closely monitoring the case, whereupon the PNB here was given ample chance and time to explain its side of the version.
The episode is related to the disappearance of the precious gold contents of a locker holder worth more than 85 lakh in this bank.
As for the policy of privacy and confidentiality, the Jharkhand Story refrains from identifying the locker holder, locker size, locker number and the contents of gold that disappeared from the locker.
Sources said the SP Reeshma Ramesan had directed the investigation officer to move in this case quite meticulously, firmly and precisely.
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Allegations of Unauthorised Locker Operation
According to the SP Reeshma Ramesan, “The then branch manager of the PNB Daltonganj Anand Kumar was noticed under section 94 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita by the officer in charge of the town police station to produce document, electronic communication etc considered necessary for any investigation, inquiry and trial.”
It was in the context of a serious allegation that this PNB branch manager here in Daltonganj, then, had allowed an unauthorised woman to operate a locker which stands in the name of a male of the family of the woman.
A locker can be operated by the authorised holder or holders only if the locker is registered under the joint names.
No other kin, relative, friend, acquaintance, even if they get access to the key to the locker of another person, can operate it since such a person has no legal authority as such to operate the locker.
Further, a registered locker holder is presumed to be careful and cautious about the key to the locker given to him by the bank.
Here, in this particular case, the locker holder intimated to the town police that his key to the locker gone missing or was lost in April 2025. The locker holder gave a similar intimation about his key to locker gone missing or lost to the then PNB branch manager.
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Manager’s Denial vs CCTV Evidence
“The then branch manager of the PNB, who was served notices under section 94 of the BNSS, refuted and rebutted the allegation of allowing an unauthorised woman to operate a locker”, said the SP Reeshma Ramesan.
However, the digital evidence speaks a different story altogether. “Town police have clinching evidence in CCTV camera footages which outright belie the rebuttal of the then branch manager so noticed by the town police in this connection,” reiterated the SP.
Locker Found Empty Despite No Tampering
The said locker, which was finally broken open on July 10 after observing all set norms as laid down by the RBI, was found empty of its contents, but a point to be noted here is that the said locker had no sign or trace of any kind of tampering with or any forcible invasion of it.
It’s high time for the higher-ups for the PNB to speak with media persons, not as any damage control exercise but to dispel confusions, misgivings etc if the PNB so finds itself engulfed in.
Now the FIR is lodged and around half a dozen sections of the BNS invoked against the four, the matter is to be contested in the court of law but nevertheless the PNB management has the right to bring out facts in the public domain as issues of things going amiss of the locker erodes and shakes the confidence of the hundreds of the locker holders who get scared of the fate of their lockers.
