Karnataka: Rs 7.11 crore looted from ATM cash refill vehicle
Bengaluru: A major daylight robbery occurred in Bengaluru, Karnataka, where a gang looted ₹7.11 crore from a vehicle carrying cash for ATM refilling.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh has issued instructions to put the city on high alert. Vehicle checking has been intensified, especially at the city borders, where barricades have been set up to prevent the accused from fleeing Bengaluru.
Two additional police teams and DCP-level officers have been deployed to investigate the case. Police are also suspecting some CMS employees.
The incident occurred near South End Circle, where employees were preparing to load cash into an ATM. At that time, a group of 7-8 people arrived in an Innova car and confronted the employees.
According to reports, the gang posed as RBI officials and threatened the cash management team. They forced the gunman and other employees out of the vehicle.
The gang reportedly took the driver towards Dairy Circle. The vehicle was then stopped at the Dairy Circle flyover, where the robbers loaded the cash into their Innova car and fled the scene.
CMS employees are being questioned at the Sidhpur police station.
There were four CMS employees in the vehicle: a driver, two gunmen, and a cash-loading employee. A fingerprint team has arrived at the scene.
Except for the driver, they forced all the other employees into their Innova car. Two of the accused were in the CMS vehicle with the driver, while the remaining CMS employees were in the Innova. They were taken a short distance and then dropped off. At the Dairy Circle flyover, the gang loaded the cash from the CMS vehicle into the Innova car.
The gang used a fake license plate on the Innova car for the robbery. The Innova bore the number KA 03 NC 8052. Police stated that this number actually belongs to a Swift car from Kalyan Nagar.
Reportedly, the employees of the cash-loading vehicle informed the authorities late after the incident, raising suspicion. Questions are being raised as to why the gunmen present did not use their weapons. A thorough investigation is underway into all these aspects.
Currently, the driver, two gunmen, and the cash depositor are being questioned at the Siddapur police station.
City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said, “We will arrest the accused as soon as possible.”
Police further stated, “There is information that the accused may have fled towards Hosakote via Domlur, Marathahalli, and Whitefield areas of Bengaluru.”
Police stated that the robbery was carried out as part of a well-planned strategy on the busy Dairy Circle flyover. There is very little pedestrian traffic here, and vehicles usually pass at high speed. Even if a vehicle stopped, it would not arouse suspicion.
Furthermore, there are no CCTV cameras in this area, making it difficult for the driver to escape. For these reasons, the accused deliberately chose the Dairy Circle flyover for the robbery. Police said the incident was reported 45 minutes to an hour after it occurred.
