Bank manager steals coins worth Rs 84 lakh to buy lottery tickets in Bengal
Midnapore, Dec 16: No one would have slotted him as a thief or an embezzler; after all, Tarak Jaiswal had an unblemished record in the eight years he worked at the State Bank of India, the country’s biggest lender.
But Jaiswal, 35, a senior assistant manager at the bank’s branch in Memari, a town 82 km from Kolkata, in West Bengal’s East Burdwan district, had an itch -- gambling. And his position, as custodian of the currency chest, made it possible for him to scratch it. Over the 17 months he spent at the branch, he stole Rs 84 lakh -- all in coins.
Even assuming all the coins were the highest denomination publicly circulated, Rs 10, that would mean he spirited away 84,00,000 coins in the span of 17 months, or close to 50,000 coins every month, or 2,000 coins every day (assuming 25 working days).
But crime doesn’t pay -- not even in coins. He was arrested on Friday and confessed soon after; his undoing was an annual audit that began on November 27. On Saturday, a local court sent him to police custody for five days.
It turns out that Jaiswal took the risk to fund his addiction to lotteries.
“Jaiswal confessed to his crime and claimed that he spent the entire money on lottery tickets. We are trying to find out if he had an accomplice,” Bhaskar Mukherjee, superintendent of police, East Burdwan district, said.
The auditors found a huge quantity of currency notes and coins in the bank’s vault and asked officials to count the coins on November 29. Sensing that his game was up, Jaiswal stopped coming to office without applying for leave. The auditors detected a huge mismatch in the stock of coins.
Since Jaiswal handled all the cash at the end of each working day and was in charge of the currency chest, he became the prime suspect. When the auditors demanded his presence at the branch, Jaiswal sent his wife with the keys to the chest.
Tarun Kumar Saha, regional manager of the bank, lodged a complaint at Memari police station. “We filed a complaint when we found a huge amount of coins missing,” Saha said.
On Friday, Soubanik Mukherjee, a sub-divisional police officer, went to the bank and asked the branch manager to summon Jaiswal. After hours of grilling, the executive broke down.
“He said during interrogation that he always knew he would be caught someday but could not stop himself from buying lottery tickets. He also claimed that nobody in the bank helped him,” a police officer involved in the probe said on condition of anonymity.
The officer said the investigators are trying to figure out how Jaiswal transported the coins out of the bank.
Police have also asked the bank why it kept such huge amounts in coins.
The last audit at the branch was conducted in February 2017. “We will ask the branch to explain why such a huge quantity of coins was not sent to the regional office or the Reserve Bank of India. Jaiswal might have stolen currency notes as well since there was no one to check him,” the police officer added.
Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com
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Siddaramaiah, I will abide by Cong high command decision on leadership issue, says Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said both he and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will abide by any decision takeb by the Congress high command on the leadership issue in the state.
Speaking to reporters after returning from Delhi, the Congress state president said, he has full faith in the party leadership and that it would take an approapriate decision at the appropriate time.
The remarks comes amid speculations within the party and political circles about a possible leadership change and cabinet reshuffle after May 4, when the results for assembly elections in four states and one union territory, along with bypolls to two assembly segments in the Karnataka are announced.
"I will not speak about political issues before the media. I have already said that when the time comes you will get to know. So I will not tell you," Shivakumar said in response to a question on discussions with the Congress high command during his Delhi visit over the last couple of days.
He asserted that there are no issues within the party, and whatever has been already decided will take place accordingly.
Responding to a question on senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi's reported statement about internal differences, the Deputy CM said, "nothing like that, they (high command) will do what they have to do at the appropriate time."
"There are no issues, we have faith in our party, they will do what they have to," he added.
Asked about the issue of leadership change as the government is about to complete three years in office, Shivakumar said, "... I have never discussed this issue. The CM and I have both said that we will accept whatever and whenever the high command decides, and we will abide by it."
He declined to comment when asked whether any "good news" can be expected by his birthday on May 15.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025. The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
Responding to a question on the BJP's criticism against the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning its intent behind the revised quota formula, Shivakumar said the BJP could not do anything on internal reservation while in power, but the Congress has kept its promise.
"We have found a solution and tried to do justice to all sections among SCs. We have fulfilled the promise made and every one should go together," he said.
Shivakumar warned his party workers against erecting flex banners for his birthday on May 15.
"For May 15, I want to tell everyone that no one should put up flex banners or advertisements for my birthday. If flex are installed I will ensure that cases are registered by authorities against those responsible, whether they are party workers or followers....no one should put such things on roads, this is my personal request," he said, adding that he has asked commissioners of the city corporations to register cases and impose heavy fines.
