After locker theft, e-petition seeks RBI review of bank policy on safety, insurance

NAVI MUMBAI: In the aftermath of the Rs 2.9 crore burglary at Bank of Baroda’s Juinagar branch earlier this week where 30 bank lockers were broken by burglars, Belapur’s Sudhir Dani (50), an MTNL employee, has started an online petition to be submitted to the Reserve Bank of India governor as well as the country’s President and Prime Minister, to seek an urgent review of banks’ locker policy.

Dani said, “It seems that the prevailing bank locker policy works on the principal similar to a pay-and-park facility, where parking is at the owner’s risk. Four years ago, I had written to the RBI governor, saying that there was an urgent need for transparency in the bank locker system. I received a reply from the RBI governor’s office then saying ‘your suggestion will be taken into account in future while framing some policy’.”



In the petition, Dani said, “The objective of the petition is that the RBI should issue guidelines to all banks to bring transparency in the bank locker system. It needs to make it mandatory for customers to declare details of the items and valuables in their lockers, which, in turn, can be inspected by bank authorities. Subsequently, valuables in lockers can be insured by customers as well as banks. Also, maintaining a record of valuables will be helpful to overcome the menace of black money or unaccounted wealth. Whereas keeping cash in bank lockers must be totally banned.”

Meanwhile, crime branch officials of Navi Mumbai police plan to release a circular for banks, jewellery stores and other commercial establishments with high value transactions to ensure that basic electronic security systems, including burglar alarms and intrusion detection kits, are installed to prevent break-ins and thefts.

Navi Mumbai deputy commissioner of police (crime) Tushar Doshi told TOI on Thursday: “The RBI has already given a list of guidelines for banks to follow for the purpose of security. However, our police force will issue a fresh circular for not only banks but also shops so that they invest in effective electronic surveillance gadgets and intrusion detection alarms.”

Security expert Sunil R Udupa said, “Seismic sensors can also detect vibrations like digging of an underground tunnel. However, most banks usually go for CCTV surveillance which can only record a crime and not sound any alarm.”

Acrime branch official said, “Many bank branches do not have burglar alarms or even round-the-clock security guards. At Bank of Baroda, the ATM was shut in the evening, hence there was no guard posted there. Otherwise the underground digging may have been sensed and detected manually.”