Three Held in Rs 7.11 Crore Bengaluru Cash Van Heist
Police constable among those held; gang planned the robbery for three months and posed as RBI officials
Bengaluru Police have arrested three people, including a serving constable, in connection with the Rs 7.11 crore cash van heist that took place in broad daylight on November 19. Police have so far recovered Rs 5.76 crore of the stolen amount.
The arrested include Annappa Naik, a police constable; a vehicle in-charge from CMS Info Systems Limited, the agency contracted by HDFC Bank for ATM cash deposits; and Xavier, a former employee of CMS Info Systems Limited. All three are residents of Bengaluru.
A car fitted with a fake number plate that was used during the robbery has been seized from the outskirts of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Searches are underway to trace the remaining suspects and recover the missing cash, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said at a press conference on Saturday.
According to Singh, the gang had meticulously planned the robbery for three months and conducted a two-week recce, selecting routes not covered by CCTV cameras.“The gang made multiple stops in CCTV shadow areas, avoided mobile phones during the operation, and used multiple vehicles while frequently changing number plates. They also communicated in different languages to mislead investigators,” he said. He added that the stolen currency notes were not sterilized by the issuing bank, complicating the tracking process.
Despite these challenges, police teams were able to crack the case, he noted. Singh said the investigation also revealed lapses on the part of CMS Info Systems, the agency responsible for transporting cash. As per Reserve Bank of India guidelines, cash vans must be GPS-enabled with live tracking, must avoid predictable routes and timings, and staff must be adequately trained — norms that were not followed.
He also pointed out that police received information about the heist 90 minutes late due to an initial miscommunication about the location. While the control room believed the incident had occurred in East Bengaluru, it had actually taken place under Siddapura Police Station limits in South Bengaluru.
Commending the efforts of over 200 officers and personnel involved in the investigation, the Commissioner announced a Rs 5 lakh reward for the police teams.
In the ongoing police investigations into the ATM cash-van heist case of Bengaluru, police arrested 3 persons in connection with the heist from Hyderabad and recovered cash of Rs 53 lakh from them. The arrested have been identified as Ravi, Naveen and Nelson. With the latest arrests, total arrest went to 6 while cash recovery was Rs 6.29 crore out of total robbery of Rs 7.11 crore.
Meanwhile, a Court in Bengaluru remanded Xavier, Gopal and Annappa to police custody till December 1 in the heist case. Earlier, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Seemnath Kumar Singh disclosed the arrests of 3 accused in the heist case.
