Security firm vehicle carrying cash to replenish ATMs targeted around 11.30 a.m. in R.T. Nagar
In a daring robbery in the upmarket R.T. Nagar here on Monday morning, an armed gang looted Rs. 1.87 crore in cash after intercepting a multi-utility vehicle (MUV) belonging to CMS Securitas Ltd., which provides ATM replenishment and cash deposit services to banks.
Twelve armed men smashed the vehicle's glass panes, attacked two CMS staff and a security guard with choppers before fleeing with the cash boxes. The gang came in a car and an MUV, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) H.S. Revanna said.
Twin attack
The attack, marked by some irregular behaviour on the part of the security firm's staff, took place around 11.30 a.m. in 2nd Block, R.T. Nagar, off Taralabaalu Kendra. The CMS staff were on their way to load cash in the ATMs of Corporation Bank on the Cox Town-Yelahanka New Town route when they were ambushed by the gang, which blocked their way by parking its MUV across. Simultaneously, the other group, which was in the car, rear-ended the CMS vehicle.
The Hindi-speaking robbers leapt out of the two vehicles, attacked cashiers Nemichand and Venkatesh and security guard Somanna Shetty with choppers, injuring them on their limbs. They loaded the cash boxes into their vehicles and sped away. They also took away a double-barrel gun they had snatched from the security guard, the police said.
A full 10 minutes
Although the gang took more than 10 minutes to shift the cash boxes into its vehicles, the CMS staff did not raise an alarm. Instead, they lay on the seats till the robbers escaped. They later claimed that the robbers had pointed a pistol at them, threatening them into silence, sources in the police said.
Curiously, the CMS staff were carrying the cash in an MUV that was reportedly hired from a travel agency, instead of the regular vehicle, which has steel mesh and other protections in place. Moreover, they had also changed their regular route on Monday.
The police suspect that a gang from north India committed the heist with the connivance of some staff as well as security staff attached to the firm, police sources said.
Staff being grilled
The R.T. Nagar police are questioning the CMS staff and security guards. They are also scanning the footage recorded by cameras installed at various traffic junctions in the city for clues about the vehicles used by the perpetrators. Commissioner of Police B.G. Jyothi Prakash Mirji, other senior police officials and forensics experts visited the spot.
