The driver of a cash transit vehicle on Monday fled with nearly Rs. 1.18 crore while the other staff were refilling cash in an ATM on the Chennai- Bengaluru National Highway in Velappanchavadi, a city suburb.
A senior police officer said a Tata Sumo utility vehicle of Logicash, a leading cash management service provider, picked up over Rs. 2 crore from its branch office at Kodambakkam in the morning. After replenishing cash at a few ATMs in the city limits, the vehicle stopped near a facility belonging to Bank of Baroda on the highway in Velappanchavadi.
While two staff members, Sathish and Babu, went inside the ATM to fill cash, the gunman Joel and the driver Isaki stayed back. Isaki reportedly asked Joel to accompany him to a tea shop on the other side of road. When Joel proceeded towards the shop, Isaki drove off in the vehicle, which had Rs. 1.18 crore.
Immediately, the staff of the service provider called the police control room for assistance.
The police rushed to the spot and conducted an investigation. The vehicle was found abandoned near Puliampedu around 4.30 p.m. The box in which the money had been kept was missing.
Police said special teams had been constituted to nab the culprit.
In August 2015, a cash-laden van belonging to another cash management firm that went missing from Angappan Naicken Street was traced by the city police within hours. The vehicle was found abandoned near Madha Koil Street, Royapuram but Rs. 26 lakh was missing. The police arrested a driver of the firm the next day.
