Driver carrying 20L RBI money found drunk, held

Coimbatore: A 53-year-old driver of a container truck carrying RBI money was found drunk at Gandhipuram on Wednesday morning. V Srinivasan was driving the contrainer truck carrying coins worth Rs 20 lakh belonging to the Reserve Bank of India. He was arrested by the Rathinapuri traffic sub-inspector, S Babu.
"As per norms, trucks are not allowed inside the city between 8am and 11am.But this truck was in the city at 10.30am. So I stopped and checked the vehicle. They told me they were from the RBI and had all the documents with them. But when I spoke to the driver, I realized that he was drunk. So I booked a case and took him to the government hospital for a test. Subsequently, he was produced in the court and was asked to pay a fine," said S Babu.
As per the bank officials, they had brought the truck from Chennai on Tuesday. They had handed over coins to nearly all the listed banks except Syndicate bank in Ram Nagar. On Wednesday, they were headed to that bank when the traffic police stopped them.
At 3pm, after the fine was paid, the truck was handed over to the bank staff. But traffic police said that what led to suspicion was the absence of armed security in the truck. "Generally, during money transfer, there is armed security. But bank officials clarified that they had transit insurance and only if the amount was above Rs20lakh, security was required," said a bank official in Coimbatore.
The driver was accompanied by a bank staff who was in charge of the coins and held the keys with him.
M V Rajan, vice-president of Tamil Nadu Bank Employees Federation said, this was the first such incident he had come across where drivers carrying RBI money were found drunk.
"This is extremely careless as the money belongs to the public. But this could be because they often outsource vehicles and don't always do background checks of drivers," he said. R Mahesh, president of Canara Bank staff union, said as per procedures, the bank officials were only responsible for the money and the safety of the truck.
"Also, they must ensure all documents are in place. But the vehicle is not given that much importance. It is always hired. But such lapses could be dangerous," he said.