Agra: A total of 96 packets of gold pledged by customers as loan collateral went missing from the vault of the Bank of India (BOI) branch at Bharaul village in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district. Though the amount of missing gold or its value has not been disclosed, one Ram Chatur said his father had deposited 40 gm of the yellow metal for a loan.Pledged gold is kept in small plastic packets with BOI logo, said a bank official on condition of anonymity. “The value and weight of each packet depend on the specific loan amount disbursed to each customer. Our teams are currently checking bank records and verifying details directly with customers to establish the exact loss,” he added.Three bank employees, including branch manager Sandeep Yadav (36), credit officer Dilip Kumar (34) and staff officer Naresh Kumar (41), have been arrested on Thursday, following an FIR filed by Aditya Pratap Singh, chief manager of the bank’s Agra zonal office.According to SHO Rishi Kumar, 150 gm of stolen gold—consisting of a traditional waist ornament (kardhani) and a pair of gold bracelets (dasti)— have been recovered from the accused.The matter first came to light after Dilip Kumar, who was the primary custodian of one of the two keys required to open the gold vault, went missing without prior notice on May 27. Because the vault operates on a dual-key system, banking operations involving gold loans came to a halt in his absence.The bank’s regional office then deputed a special inspection team comprising senior manager (security) Ankit Janhu and Ghiror branch’s senior manager Sushil Kumar to audit the Bharaul branch on June 15, 2026.Using a duplicate key retrieved from the Ghiror branch, the team opened the safe under CCTV surveillance and in the presence of the bank’s panel advocate Shivkumar Sharma. Upon opening the vault, they discovered that 96 packets of gold collateral were missing.The case has been registered at Aaron police station under BNS sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 317 (receiving or retaining stolen property) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy).Speaking on the development, Firozabad SSP Aditya Langeh said the investigation is moving rapidly. “The police are tracing the movement of all 96 gold packets to determine exactly when they were removed or transferred. A complete list of the missing inventory and its market value is being compiled. We will recover the remaining gold and return it to its rightful owners within a reasonable timeframe,” the SSP said.