In a case reminiscent of the November 2016 incident when driver Dominic Selvaraj absconded with ₹92 lakh meant for an ATM in Bengaluru, four personnel from a cash transfer agency in Mangaluru, allegedly made away with ₹7.5 crore from Axis Bank on Thursday. They were to carry it from Mangaluru to Bengaluru branch.
According to a complaint filed with the Kankanady Town police station, SIS Prosegur Holdings Pvt. Ltd. was authorised by Axis Bank to bring ₹7.5 crore from its Yeyyadi branch in Mangaluru to its Koramangala branch in Benglauru, but the money never arrived.
On Thursday morning, driver Karibasappa, custodian Parashuram and gunmen T.A. Poovanna and T.P. Basappa of the firm arrived in a vehicle at the Yeyyadi branch at around 8.30 a.m. They left the branch with the money and also the authorisation letter of Yeyyadi branch manager Ranjit to take the money to Koramangala branch.
Sachin, in charge of the SIS Prosegur, Mangaluru branch, in his complaint said the four personnel had failed to take the money to Koramangala or return it to the Yeyyadi branch. He accused the four of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev M. Patil said the vehicle was not fitted with a GPS device and there was no armed police escort as required under the norms.
The police ultimately found the vehicle abandoned in Arasukallalli near Hunsur. The last call by the accused to the firm’s personnel in Bengaluru was around 3 p.m. on Thursday, to report that the vehicle had run out of diesel.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar has formed a 16-member team to trace the accused. The police are looking at the involvement of Bheemayya, an office assistant in the firm’s Bengaluru office, who is a relative of the two gunmen, in the offence.
In its statement, Axis Bank’s spokesperson said their cash transfer systems and processes of the bank were robust and fully compliant with existing regulations. The amount being transferred by the agency was fully insured. Neither the vehicle in question nor the personnel involved are of the bank.
