Mystery over missing jewels of MANSAS Trust continues

Endowments and MANSAS Trust send notices to SBI

The mystery over missing of of jewel box of MANSAS from SBI Bank locker continues with no clues on the culprits found. The Trust deposited nearly Rs.10 crore worth of gold, silver and precious stone ornaments with the State Bank of India's main branch for safe keeping over half a century ago. Even after four days, they failed to locate the box and the bank's officials informed their higher ups about the disappearance of the jewellery and forwarded a letter of complaint lodged by MANSAS.

Bank sources says that there was no locker facility when the ornaments were deposited with the bank and it was only a safe deposit box then that was provided by MANSAS. The property was reportedly kept in a box which was given the number 13/62 on May 8, 1957 and the box was opened only once later by the owner in 1967 and never again. The efforts of the Endowments Assistant Commissioner Ch Hanumanta Rao and his team to trace the box coming a cropper, MANSAS Trust Chairman P Ananda Gajapati Raju wrote a letter to the State Bank of India informing it of the theft.

Ananda Gajapati Raju said that the assistant commissioner of the Trust issued a notice to the SBI but the bank did not respond and had asked the Endowment Department to probe into the incident. The Assistant Endowments Commissioner said that he will make further comments only after seeing the report. Endowments Assistant Commissioner and MANSAS Executive Officer Ch Hanumanta Rao said notices were issued to the State Bank of India and are awaiting their response. The Chief Manager of SBI said that he had informed the matter to higher officials and denied to comment on the issue.

Andhra News