In a major success, the Bengaluru police has cracked the shocking Rs 7.11 crore ATM cash heist in the city that has had cops on their toes for days now. Reports said the police have recovered Rs 5.76 cr cash from Chennai and Andhra Pradesh as well. Two accused were taken into custody from Tamil Nadu‘s Velluru.
Bengaluru police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said that a police constable in the city, who is the mastermind, and a former employee of the Cash Management Services (CMS) from Kerala were arrested. Both are said to be close friends, and together they hatched this plot, six months after the latter quit CMS. Three people have been arrested, the city top cop said
“A police constable, ex-employee of CMS and cash vehicle in charge were involved in robbery,” Singh said in a press conference on Saturday.
How cops reached to the ex-CMS worker and constable
The robbers had posed as RBI officials, and then executed their plan. The police began looking for the ex-employees, believing it to be an insider job. They found the former CMS employee and the constable had talked over the phone several times on the day of robbery, leading to their detention, and subsequent interrogation.
According to reports, the constable had hired some locals to execute the heist. He is said to have a criminal past, when he was arrested as well.
Earlier, talking to the reporters, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parmeshwara had said that a tip was received regarding the robbery case in which allegedly Rs 7 crore was robbed, and the accused will not be left unpunished. The accused were given information about depositing money in ATMs, he said.
“We have just gotten a lead about whether anyone was among those depositing money. We have taken this case seriously. Such an incident has never happened in broad daylight in Bengaluru… All the information about the vehicle number has been received. The investigation is underway. Some information has been received regarding the case. Not all information can be shared, as it will hinder the investigation. We will definitely catch them,” he had further said.
How was the robbery done?
In the CCTV footage, the van was seen coming out of the bank and on the road. The van had collected cash from HDFC Bank’s JP Nagar branch. At Ashoka Pillar in Jayanagar, six robber in an Innova stopped the van and asked four men inside to show their IDs. These robbers posed as RBI officials.
Except for driver, the guards and another person were transferred in the Innova and the driver was asked to move towards a flyover. Just before the flyover, they stopped the van and at gunpoint, made the people transfer the cash to the Innova which had ‘Govt of India’ written on rear window.