A woman lost her hard-earned savings of Rs 18 lakh to termites in a bank locker in Uttar Pradesh.
The shocking incident unfolded at Bank of Baroda's Ashiana branch in Moradabad, where Alka Pathak had kept cash worth Rs 18 lakh, which she had saved for her daughter's wedding, in her locker in October last year.
Bank employees recently asked her to visit the branch for the renewal of the locker agreement and to update her 'Know You Customer' details.
When Pathak opened her locker, she was devastated to find that the currency notes had turned to dust after a termite attack. Bank officials were shocked by the incident too.
The bank staff said they had sent a report to the Bank of Baroda headquarters.
Pathak has alleged that the bank officials are not sharing any info with her either.
Notably, the Reserve Bank of India had introduced new regulations that prohibit the storage of any cash in bank lockers.
The Bank of Baroda locker agreement states, "The license to use the locker hereby granted is only for legitimate purposes such as storing of valuables like jewelry and documents but not for storing any cash or currency".
The bank's website states that it will be responsible for any loss of locker contents "caused by theft, burglary, or robbery". "The bank shall be liable to pay you 100 times the prevailing safe deposit locker annual rent. This compensation also applies in case of fire, building collapse, or fraud," it states.
