Another cash van heist solved; driver’s wife held

The 30-year-old wife of a cash van driver, who had allegedly made off with Rs.51 lakhs after drugging three other employees of a cash replenishment agency in North-West Delhi a few days ago, has been arrested for allegedly being a partner in crime. The police have recovered Rs.47 lakhs from the accused.

The incident took place when Om Pal Singh, the driver of a cash van attached to Logicash Solution along with two company employees Hemant and Yogesh besides a security guard named Brijesh collected Rs.81 lakhs from its regional office in Jhandewalan and was replenishing ATM machines on September 28.

“The cash was to be loaded in various ATM machines of Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank of India and United Bank of India in the city. When they reached Ghanta Ghar in Subzi Mandi after replenishing ATM machines at Kishanganj and Kamla Nagar, Om Pal offered sweets laced with sedatives to his colleagues. The other three fell unconscious when the van reached near Kirori Mal College on the Delhi University’s North Campus. They were found inside the van abandoned at the Jehangirpuri metro station in the early hours of September 29. The driver had absconded with the remaining Rs.51 lakhs,” said a police officer.

“To his office, driver Om Pal had provided two addresses of Najafgarh and Nandnagri. The police found that he had vacated his Najafgarh residence two months ago and the Nandnagri rented accommodation four days before the incident,” said the officer.

Developing the leads, the police learnt that Om Pal’s wife had an account in the Durgapuri branch of Muthoot Finance. Acting on a tip-off that she would visit the branch on Monday, the police laid a trap and arrested her. During interrogation, she identified herself as Geeta. She told the interrogators that her husband presently lived in Narela and was a permanent resident of Kanjhawla. “He is a history-sheeter of the area and was absent for the past seven to eight years. Geeta’s husband was earlier involved in cases of robbery, theft and snatching in Delhi and neighbouring cities,” said the officer, raising suspicion that the agency had probably not got the antecedents of Om Pal verified through the police.

“The couple kept changing their residence to evade detection. They stayed in Rajiv Nagar, Gopal Nagar, Najafgarh and Nandnagri before shifting to Narela. Om Pal Singh managed to get the job of a driver with Logicash Solution, a private firm that transfers cash from banks to various ATM machines. He had shared with his wife the plan to decamp with cash after drugging his colleagues. Accordingly they took a flat on rent in Narela 10 days ago and shifted to the new accommodation four days before he struck,” said the officer.

Geeta purportedly disclosed that her husband had left for an undisclosed location after entrusting the cash to her. The police said Geeta had married Om Pal against her parents’ wishes. They have a 10-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son.