CHENNAI: The Chennai City Central Crime Branch has arrested a former female locker in-charge of a private bank for allegedly stealing gold jewellery worth approximately Rs 1.34 crore from a customer’s locker without their knowledge. The accused, identified as S Padmapriya (38), was arrested on Thursday after being on the run.
According to police, the case came to light on December 5, 2025, when Ahmed Kathiri (46), the branch manager of the private bank, found a small purse containing 1,156.50 grams of gold jewellery valued at Rs 1.34 crore lying under a chair at the bank around 2.45 pm. Initially, bank officials suspected that a woman in a burqa who had visited the bank earlier might have accidentally dropped the purse.
However, after waiting for five days with no one coming forward to claim the valuables, the manager lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Branch.
During the investigation, police discovered that Padmapriya, a former locker in-charge at the same bank, was previously arrested and later released on bail for stealing 246.49 grams of gold from another customer’s locker. While out on bail, she secretly returned the 1,156.50 grams of gold to the bank without anyone’s knowledge. The recovered gold matched the jewellery found in the purse.
Following these revelations, a police team led by the CCB Assistant Commissioner of Police (EDF-III) launched a manhunt for the absconding accused. Padmapriya was finally arrested on April 2, 2026. She was produced before a court the same day and remanded to judicial custody as per court orders.
Further investigations are underway.