Gold loan finance firms have scant security: Cops

After the recent theft of 30 kilogrammes of gold worth Rs 9 crore from a Manappuram Gold Loan Finance Company (MPGLC) branch at Ulhasnagar, the Thane police on Wednesday stated that most of such financial institutions in Thane have inadequate security measures in place. The police will now start a campaign to educate the branch managers to avoid similar occurences.

On December 25, unidentified thieves broke into MPGLC by creating a cavity near the bathroom passage at Shankar Krupa Palace building near Laal chowki in Ulhasnagar and decamped with the booty. The theft was reported next morning. The thieves had used cutters to break the safety locker and surprisingly, the safety alarm which was connected with the locker, did not go off, making it convenient for the thieves to escape. 

“The branch managers should have at least intimated the local police about they possessing large quantity of gold in their premises as we could have increased the patrolling in the region or could have enforced nakabandi to prevent the theft,” said Sunil Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone IV (Thane).

“The alarm of the safety locker did not ring as an insider probably had tipped off the thieves about the security alarms and cameras,” said Bhardwaj.

Parag Manere, DCP, Crime Branch, said, “We have noticed that many such gold finance companies have inadequate security systems in place and many branches of these firms do not report to the local police about the possession of gold with them.”

“We will undertake a safety and security awareness campaign for the branch managers of such institutions to brief them about the safety measures that should be undertaken by them and they will have to toe the line in terms of
security as such incidents could be curbed if the companies follow guidelines by appointing guards and installing hi-tech cameras to protect their valuables,” said Manere.