A woman in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has alleged that jewellery and other valuables worth around Rs 50 lakh, which she had kept in a bank locker in 2003, have gone missing. The locker was opened at the State Bank of India’s (SBI) Swaroop Nagar branch on July 27, after the woman returned to check it following years of limited access. She reportedly found the locker empty. The locker was originally allotted by the then State Bank of Travancore, which later merged with SBI in 2017.
Following her complaint, Swaroop Nagar police registered a case against the branch manager and other bank employees and began examining locker records, access registers and CCTV footage. Police have not established who removed the valuables, and the allegations against the bank staff remain under investigation. The case has raised concerns over the security of long-unused bank lockers and the accountability of banks when customers discover missing valuables.
A Locker That Stayed Unchecked For Years
According to the woman’s complaint, she opened a savings account with the then State Bank of Travancore’s Swaroop Nagar branch in 2003 and was allotted locker number 23. She said she placed jewellery worth approximately Rs 50 lakh inside it. After her husband’s death in 2011, she moved to Lucknow to live with her daughter and was unable to regularly visit the Kanpur branch. However, she said locker charges continued to be deducted from her bank account.
Around four months before the complaint, she and her daughter approached the branch and were reportedly told that the State Bank of Travancore had merged with SBI. The family also claimed that bank officials initially told them that the woman no longer had a locker at the branch. On July 21, she returned to the bank after depositing money into her account and was informed about the locker. She went back on July 27 with the key and opened it, only to find the jewellery missing.
Her daughter, questioned how valuables could disappear from a bank locker while the account holder continued paying locker charges. The family subsequently approached the Police Commissioner after alleging that they had not received a satisfactory response from the bank.
Police Probe Access Records And CCTV
The complaint has prompted an investigation into when the locker was accessed and whether any lapse occurred in its management or security. Swaroop Nagar police registered a case against the branch manager and other employees on the Police Commissioner’s orders. Station in-charge Devendra Singh said bank records showed that the locker holder had visited the branch twice in 2020 to open it. “There is an entry of this in the bank register. The matter is being investigated,” Singh said.
Investigators are examining the locker access register, bank records, CCTV footage and other documents to establish who accessed the locker and when. The police are also looking into whether there was any failure in maintaining records or securing the locker. Importantly, the registration of an FIR does not establish wrongdoing by the bank officials named in the complaint. The exact circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the jewellery are yet to be determined.
The case also comes against the backdrop of rules governing bank lockers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) requires banks to exercise due care and take necessary precautions to protect lockers. Its guidelines also provide for specific procedures when lockers remain unused for extended periods, including contacting the locker holder and, in certain circumstances, proceeding with opening the locker after due notice. Under revised rules that came into effect in 2022, banks can be liable for loss of locker contents arising from events such as theft, burglary or fraud by bank employees when attributable to the bank’s shortcomings or negligence. However, the liability is capped at 100 times the annual locker rent.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
A bank locker is built on an expectation of trust: customers hand over access to a secured banking facility because they believe their valuables will be protected through clear procedures, proper records and accountability. At the same time, allegations must be investigated fairly, without presuming guilt before evidence establishes what happened. In this case, the priority should be a transparent investigation that establishes when the locker was accessed, who had authorised access, what records exist and whether any procedural lapse occurred.
If negligence or wrongdoing is established, the affected customer deserves an appropriate remedy and those responsible must be held accountable. More broadly, banks should ensure that customers with long-unused lockers are contacted through reliable channels and that locker access records remain properly maintained, particularly when banking institutions undergo mergers. What do you think banks should do to make locker systems more transparent and secure for customers?
Also Read: ‘Examining Its Impact’: India On New Pakistan-Saudi-Turkey Defence Pact, Here’s Why It Matters
🚨 She checked her SBI bank locker after 17 years. It was Completely empty !
— Vara Tweets 🪷 (@2Varalakshmi) August 10, 2026
A Kanpur woman trusted her SBI bank with everything her wedding jewelry, her family's gold… ₹50 LAKH worth, locked away since 2003 !
Her husband died. She moved in with her daughter. The bank kept… pic.twitter.com/7eLhFGf5Nf
