A woman from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh lost around Rs1.8 million (Dh79,616) after the cash she kept in a bank locker was “eaten by termites”.
According to reports, the woman had saved the money for her daughter’s wedding and is now suing the bank for damages.
The Rs1.8 million in cash was kept in a locker at the Bank of Baroda’s Ashiana branch by Alka Pathak, a resident of Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in October 2022. According to a local news source, Pathak had intended to utilize the savings for her daughter’s wedding but was astonished when she entered the locker a year later.
She received a call asking her to come to the bank to renew the locker contract and undergo Know Your Customer (KYC) checks. According to the article, Pathak discovered that the notes had been entirely destroyed by termites when she unlocked her locker to examine the cash.
Another media outlet reported that the woman had also kept some jewelry with the money. When she discovered her loss, she informed the bank’s branch manager about it, and an investigation into the occurrence was started.
Pathak said she had no idea that she could suffer such loss despite keeping the money in the bank locker.
Vishal Dixit, Lead District Manager of Bank of Baroda, confirmed that termites had eaten cash kept in the bank locker. “I got information that cash kept in the bank locker was eaten away by termites. The bank is carrying out an investigation into the reason behind the incident,” he told news agency ANI.
