By The Sampadak Express
A Canara Bank officer, identified as Abhinav Saxena, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stealing approximately ₹10 lakh from the donation boxes of the famous Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. The arrest came after CCTV footage showed Saxena hiding bundles of cash inside his clothes.
Saxena, a resident of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, had been involved in the monthly counting of donations collected from the temple’s 16 donation boxes. During this process, temple security personnel noticed suspicious behavior as Saxena was seen concealing bundles of ₹500 and ₹200 notes. Following this, the security team alerted the police, and Saxena was frisked in front of witnesses, leading to the discovery of ₹1,28,600 on his person.
Upon questioning, Saxena admitted to stealing a total of ₹8,55,300 over the previous two days during the counting process. The police later recovered the stolen amount from his residence in Ashoka City, Mathura.
The police have filed a case against Saxena under charges of theft and breach of trust based on a formal complaint lodged by Munish Kumar Sharma, the manager of the Banke Bihari temple. Saxena was presented before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody on Sunday.
Canara Bank’s Vrindavan branch manager, Mohit Kumar, confirmed that Saxena had been suspended immediately after his arrest. Saxena, who had worked at the Vrindavan branch from 2020 to 2024, had been transferred to the Mathura loan department before the incident. The bank is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
This incident highlights concerns about temple donations and the need for increased vigilance, especially when large amounts of money are handled.
