Two more persons, including a former employee of the vault managing company of a bank from where the staff of a cash replenishment agency had collected Rs.5.25 crore for transportation to its Lajpat Nagar office on September 28, have been arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy behind the sensational heist. Five persons have been arrested in the case so far and almost half the stolen cash recovered.
Umesh (39) and his accomplice Mukesh Saini (31) are residents of Taimur Nagar. The police claim to have seized Rs.2.65 lakh from them besides a motorcycle used in the commission of crime, a mobile phone and an identity card of a security agency. Those arrested earlier in the case are Deepak Sharma (34), the younger brother of prime accused Hari Kishan, and relatives of another suspected robber, Krishan (39) and Tek Chand (50).
Joint Commissioner of Police Vivek Gogia said investigations into the suspected role of an insider led the police to one Mukesh, an accomplice of one of the robbers, who the police found was in touch with Umesh, a former employee with the vault managing company of the bank located at Hauz Khas. His job was to paste stickers on cash wads, stack the bundles in boxes to load them into the vans for replenishment of ATM machines and circulation among other branches of the bank.
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The police arrested Mukesh in Mandawali near his relative’s house and at his instance, they purportedly recovered Rs.1.35 lakh, his share of the loot. Umesh was subsequently arrested.
During interrogation, Mukesh purportedly disclosed that he was lodged in Tihar Jail for over two years in a cheating case. While in jail, he met one of the robbers and they remained in touch after they were released about 18 months ago.
According to the police, the main accused persuaded Mukesh to develop information that could be of help in committing a big robbery. “Mukesh was in dire need of money as he was unable to get any job because of his criminal past,” said a police officer. In due course, he came in contact with his neighbour Umesh and roped him into the conspiracy on the pretext that he would get enough money from the job to buy a house.
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Lured by the offer, Umesh allegedly leaked information about the cash van and both the accused conducted reconnaissance to identify the timing and routes taken by the vehicle. The accused planned to target the van at an opportune time to make the most of it. Whenever the local guards would confront them while they were loitering about the vault office, Umesh would produce his old identity card claiming that he was trying to get a job for his friend Mukesh.
On the fateful day, the accused were at the vault office on Mukesh’s motorcycle keeping a watch on the van. Soon after the van left for Lajpat Nagar, they tipped off one of the alleged members of Hari Kishan gang.
Subsequently the van was intercepted in Defence Colony.