LUCKNOW, April 3 -- More than three months have passed since the sensational heist at a bank's Chinhat branch in Lucknow. However, people who lost their valuables from 42 bank lockers during the heist are yet to hear back from the authorities about their missing deposits.

Neither Indian Overseas Bank, whose branch was targeted in the wee hours of December 22, nor police officials have issued any clarity about the situation even after several valuables were recovered from the robbers--some of whom were arrested and others killed in police encounters within days of the incident.

The slow progress in returning the deposits of 45 customers has taken a personal toll on some. So far, police have recovered about 6 kg of gold, 14 kg of silver a...