KOCHI/PUNE: In a major theft, 18 kg of gold worth around Rs 5 crore along with Rs 6 lakh in cash were stolen from a branch of Manappuram Finance Ltd in Pune. The incident took place at the Bhavani Peth branch on Tuesday, the police said.According to the police, the security guard of Manappuram branch received a fake call asking him to come to the other branch of the firm in the city with a register. On reaching the spot, he found that there was nobody and he returned to his office in Bhavani Peth. On Wednesday, when Manappuram’s staff opened the safety vault, they found that 18 kg of gold and Rs 6.34 lakh cash missing. Police suspect that the burglars executed the theft at the brief interval when the guard went to the other branch of the firm.According to the police, even though there are two CCTV cameras installed at the office, only the camera placed at the safety vault was functional. “We are analysing the footage captured on the camera. We are also quizzing the staff members,” the police said. Manappuram branch manager Vidyadhar Sathe has registered a complaint with the Khadak police. People who had taken loan from the branch, gathered at the site and demanded their valuables. The authorities assured them to return their assets as soon as possible.Deputy General Manager of Manappuram Raju Raphel told ‘Express’ that the gold has been insured for an equal amount of its value. “It has been insured. Hence customers will be given their money either in cash or in gold, as they want. We will not wait for the procedures to be completed for giving customers their money back,” he said.
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