Nagpur/Bhandara: In a dramatic case of insider betrayal, a 32-year-old assistant manager of Canara Bank branch in Bhandara has been arrested for orchestrating a midnight theft of Rs 1.58 crore from his own branch’s strongroom, a crime police say was fuelled by crushing debt and an escalating online gambling habit.
The accused, Mayur Nepale, posted at the bank’s Chikhla branch in Sitasawangi and residing in Nagpur, allegedly executed the robbery in the early hours of November 18. He was nabbed within 24 hours.
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21 Oct 2025
Investigators say Nepale had lost nearly Rs 30 lakh in online betting and was drowning in personal and private loans exceeding Rs 80 lakh. Despite having cleared banking exams and preparing for UPSC, his spiralling financial troubles reportedly pushed him towards the heist.
Police revealed that Nepale drew inspiration from a high-profile gold heist involving a senior bank officer in Karnataka. He also used online videos to meticulously plan his operation. His preparations were elaborate, disabling cameras, snapping power cables, using duplicate keys, wearing a monkey cap, wiping fingerprints, and even attempting to mask his body odour to mislead sniffer dogs.
A single missed camera
But the plan began to unravel when one external CCTV camera, the only one he failed to disable, captured him arriving on his scooter late at night with multiple bags. His face, physique, and vehicle were clearly visible in the footage.
Police said he had purchased four bags from Nagpur on November 17. The next morning, he drove to the branch, broke the channel gate and shutter lock, accessed the strongroom using his managerial keys, emptied the cash chests, removed the DVR and internal cameras, and fled back to Nagpur with the cash.
Officers also discovered that on November 13, Nepale had sought an unusually large cash requisition of Rs 85 lakh from the RBI citing an “emergency requirement”. This pushed the cash stock at the branch to nearly five times its normal level, a move that later strengthened investigators’ suspicion.
The theft came to light when staff arrived at the branch on November 18 and alerted Gobarwahi Police. Sensing an insider’s hand, Bhandara SP Noorul Hasan formed ten special teams, including cyber and crime branch units, to crack the case. “No outsider could know the camera angles or key locations,” Hasan said.
Nepale’s movements a day earlier, his leave application citing “training” in Nagpur, and his decision to return to Bhandara on the same scooter seen in the CCTV footage deepened doubts. Police later found that he had stashed most of the cash in his car, prompting him to avoid using it post-heist.
The breakthrough
A team led by Senior Inspector Vivek Sonavane of the Bhandara Local Crime Branch raided Nepale’s family home in Nagpur. After initial denials, he broke down and confessed.
Police recovered Rs 96.12 lakh, a Tata Nexon, his scooter, mobile phone, and the stolen DVR, assets worth Rs 1.07 crore.
The hunt for the remaining cash is underway as police prepare to file a detailed chargesheet in what has become one of the region’s most sensational bank thefts by an insider.
