Bank staffer steals Rs 61 lakh over 3 years, held

The accused, B Suresh, spent the entire money on liquor and to lead a luxurious life with his friends, said police.

Police recovered Rs 3.93 lakh and seven sovereigns from his house in Chintadripet.

Police said that he has been working in the branch as a cashier for seven years and he was entrusted with the responsibility of replenishing the cash in the ATM attached to the branch.

While the capacity of ATM is Rs 72 lakh, it needs to be replenished with at least Rs 15 to 20 lakh daily as it is located within the hospital premises.

Sources said that the branch would handle cash up to Rs 50 lakh every day. While replenishing the cash, Suresh would take away Rs 10,000 to 50,000 without the knowledge of the bank manager. Since he was one of the trusted employees, officials did not suspect anything.

In this way, he swindled Rs 61 lakh in the past two and a half years.

After Durga Pooja holidays, Suresh stopped coming to work. When bank officials tried to contact him, Suresh remained unavailable over the phone. On suspicion, bank officials checked ATM and it had only Rs 40,000.

They immediately filed a police complaint. Based on their complaint, the SRMC police registered a case and tracked down Suresh. He was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.