In a dramatic turn in the case of jewellery worth Rs 1.50 crore being left behind at a private bank in Velachery, police have uncovered that the woman who abandoned the gold was a former manager of the same bank — and that the jewellery was stolen.
The incident took place at a private bank on 100 Feet Road, Velachery. On December 5, a woman in a burqa visited the branch and enquired about opening a new bank account. As the officials concerned were out, staff asked her to wait. She soon stepped out, claiming she needed to collect documents, but never returned.
A purse left on the seat where she had been sitting drew the staff’s attention. When opened, it was found to contain 1.256 kg of gold, including biscuits and a bracelet, valued at around Rs 1.50 crore. Bank officials secured the jewellery and alerted their head office. An audit team later confirmed that the items were genuine gold.
As the woman did not return for several days, the bank lodged a complaint at the Velachery police station and handed over the jewellery. Police traced the woman through CCTV footage and facial recognition. She was identified as Padmapriya (37), also known as Padmakumari, who had worked as a manager at the same branch until last year.
Police said Padmapriya had been under financial distress after her husband died by suicide due to heavy debts. Creditors had continued to pressure her, leading her to allegedly steal 250 grams of jewellery from a customer’s locker during her tenure at the bank. She had been arrested in that case and was released on bail just a week ago.
Investigations also revealed that she had taken another 250 grams of gold from a second customer’s locker and kept it at home. Fearing that she would be arrested again for the missing jewellery, she reportedly visited the bank in disguise, hoping to secretly return the stolen items. When she was unable to access the locker, she abandoned the purse containing the gold and left.
Padmapriya has been taken into custody for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
