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Ahmedabad: In a bizarre incident, a veteran bank employee successfully smuggled Rs 8.70 crore from a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) currency chest located inside a Bank of Baroda branch in Ahmedabad's Kalupur area. 

The multi-crore theft, captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) five months ago, has left senior banking officials stunned and exposed deep vulnerabilities in internal banking audits.

The prime accused, Harshiddh Kadiyara, had been employed at the public sector bank for 15 years and served as a junior joint custodian of the highly secure currency chest. 

According to police reports, Kadiyara orchestrated the theft on January 13, using his position of trust to walk away with 174 reams of Rs 500 notes effortlessly.

CCTV footage that surfaced recently shows Kadiyara carrying away a large waste bin under the pretext of clearing scrap material. In reality, the bin was completely devoid of trash, packed instead with millions in liquid cash.

The 98-Day Countdown

What has shocked investigators most is Kadiyara's calculation. Well aware of banking infrastructure protocols, he knew the branch’s CCTV data was routinely retained for only 90 days. 

To ensure the incriminating footage was overwritten and erased by the automated system, Kadiyara continued to report for duty as usual. 

He worked alongside unsuspecting colleagues for 98 days following the robbery, successfully manipulating day-to-day accounts on the RBI's e-Kuber portal to mask the massive shortfall.

Once confident that the digital trail was permanently gone and the theft had gone unnoticed, Kadiyara suddenly went on an extended sick leave.

A Multimillion-Rupee Spending Spree

Free from corporate scrutiny, Kadiyara embarked on an extravagant spending spree. He spent an estimated Rs 4 crore of the stolen loot in weeks, purchasing a luxury car, a commercial vehicle, and a premium residential house in Chandkheda. 

In an audacious display of generosity, he even distributed a Rs 23 lakh loan to a female colleague at the bank. After exhausting half the fortune, he departed for a lavish vacation in the hill station of Manali.

The Audit Catch

The house of cards collapsed when a newly appointed person in charge of the currency chest initiated a routine verification ahead of an upcoming, formal RBI inspection. 

Discrepancies between physical cash stacks and digital balances prompted a strict internal audit, blowing the cover off the missing Rs 8.70 crore.

Following a formal FIR, Ahmedabad police launched technical surveillance and tracked Kadiyara down to the city’s Sola area. 

Upon cornering his luxury vehicle, officers discovered over Rs 2.20 crore in raw cash stashed entirely within the car's boot. 

Kadiyara, along with two contract labourers who assisted him in moving the heavy cash boxes, has been arrested and remanded to police custody as further tracking of the remaining laundered funds continues.