BENGALURU: In one of the well-scripted daring daylight dacoities in Bengaluru, five to six miscreants posing as RBI officials looted Rs 7.1 crore from an armoured cash van from a busy flyover in south Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon.The incident took place between 12.30pm and 1pm when the van, owned by CMS Info Systems, was moving cash in three boxes from HDFC Bank in JP Nagar to HBR Layout, 22km away. The stunning drama involved an MUV, two hatchbacks and the CMS-run armoured van.
Read also: Bengaluru horror: Fake police hold cat at knifepoint, rob woman via UPIThe drama started when a hatchback, a Maruti Zen, blocked the cash van near Ashoka Pillar, Jayanagar 2nd Block, around 12.30pm. Besides driver Binod Kumar, there were three occupants in the van: custodian Aftab and gunmen Rajanna & Tammaiah.Three men sprang out of the hatchback, which was tailed by an Innova, an MUV, and directed the van occupants : “We are RBI officials. There is a complaint against your firm for violating RBI guidelines. We have to record your statements.”
The CMS staff readily believed the imposters. The two gunmen Rajanna and Tammaiah left their licensed single-barrel guns in the vehicle and entered the MUV along with the custodian.8 special teams to probe caseOne of the miscreants advised the cash van driver to go to Dairy Circle flyover — about 3km from Ashoka Pillar — and wait for “the RBI officials”. While Kumar drove ahead, the MUV with the CMS staff and miscreants closely followed the van. On reaching Nimhans junction, the MUV stopped.
The miscreants directed the three CMS staffers to disembark: “Come to the police station and we’ll take your statements. Before that, we should take the cash boxes to the RBI.”The CMS staffers walked in the direction of Siddapura police station. Driver Kumar drove up to Dairy Circle flyover and waited there.“Soon, the MUV with miscreants stopped near Kumar. At gunpoint, miscreants shifted the cash boxes into another hatchback — a Maruti WagonR — for inspection by RBI. In the blink of an eye, the miscreants sped away, leaving behind Kumar, his van, and their MUV,” a police officer said.Read more: Bengaluru man slits estranged daughter-in-law’s throat in her sleep over unpaid loan; arrestedBengaluru City police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said they are probing the case from all angles. “Unfortunately, there was a delay in CMS approaching us. Two deputy commissioners of police and one joint commissioner are leading eight special teams to crack thecase,” he said.
Sanjay, a witness, claimed he saw a hatchback blocking the CMS van just ahead of Ashoka Pillar. “Then, an MUV that came from behind had the logo of the Indian govt on its front licence plate,” he said. Police discovered the licence plate (KA-03-NC-8052) was fake, and it is of a sedan owned by a person in Kalyannagar.Nataraj, senior security adviser from CMS, said he didn’t suspect any of his staffers and added that police investigation will reveal the men behind it. Vinod Chandrar, a branch manager of CMS, lodged a complaint late Wednesday night.
