Bengaluru: ATM custodian behind heist!

Bengaluru: In a classic case of fence eating the crop, one of the bike-borne robbers involved in the heist of Rs 18.50 lakh from the custodian of an ATM loader vehicle near Jalahalli Cross on Monday, has named the custodian himself as the mastermind behind the robbery.

The robber who has confessed, Nitish, was arrested by the police in Malavalli of Mandya district on Tuesday. He was detained along with Abhi and Rakshit, while Maruthi escaped. The police found a bag containing a large amount of cash with them. When the police interrogated them, Nitish confessed that he and Maruthi were behind the early morning heist in Bengaluru and robbed the cash from an ATM vehicle. The police recovered Rs 15.25 lakh from Nitish.

Nitish was arrested by the police in Malavalli of Mandya district on Tuesday.

“A police team on patrol found four men moving around in a suspicious manner near a hotel on Mysuru Road. When the team accosted them, they started running. The team chased them, caught them and found a bag full of cash. They confessed to robbing the custodian of the cash-refilling vehicle,” a police officer said.

Nitish told the police that the mastermind of the robbery was the custodian of the cash, Sagar, from whom they snatched the cash bag after stabbing him thrice. Nitish confessed that he and Maruthi followed the instructions given by Sagar, who had planned the entire robbery. Sagar asked them to come near the ICICI Bank ATM near Jalahalli Cross at 6 am on Monday.

Sagar, from whom they snatched the cash bag after stabbing him thrice.

“He instructed us that the cash-refilling vehicle would reach the ATM and that we should wait nearby. Sagar told us that he would step out of the vehicle with a bag containing cash and that we should snatch it from him. To make it look like a real robbery, he also asked us to stab him more than once and flee the spot,” Nitish told the police.

DCP (North) Chethan Singh Rathor said that his team is waiting for Sagar, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital, to recover from the injuries following which he would be detained. The Bagalagunte police will also seek the custody of Nitish for further questioning.

How it unfolded

•  Malavalli police detained Nitish and two others after they were found in possession of huge amount of cash.
•  During interrogation Nitish revealed it was stolen from an ATM cash van in Bengaluru.
• He also revealed that the custodian of the cash van Sagar was the  mastermind.
•  As the cash van reached an ATM in Jalahalli, Nitish and Maruthi to carried out robbery.
• To make the robbery look real, he told them to stab him before fleeing.