Rs 7.11 crore daylight heist: Karnataka Police launch manhunt; FIR reveals chilling details

Bengaluru, Nov 20 The Karnataka Police have launched a hunt for the robbers involved in the shocking Rs 7.11 crore daylight heist in Bengaluru. The FIR filed in the case reveals chilling details of how the robbers, claiming to be officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), threatened the driver at gunpoint, forced the gunmen and another staffer to get down from the vehicle, and carried out the robbery.

It has also come to light that the gang took away the DVR from the cash-refill vehicle.

The complaint was filed by 47-year-old Vinod Chandrar, Branch Manager of CMS Info System Limited, located in HBR Layout. Every day, the company withdraws money from the HDFC Bank currency chest in ITI Layout, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru, and deposits it into ATMs across the city.

The FIR states, as on other days, on November 19 at 9.30 a.m., under the supervision of custodian Aftab, the company vehicle -- a Tata Yodha bearing registration number GJ-01-HT-9173 -- with driver Binod Kumar and gunmen Rajanna and Thammaiah left for duty. At 12.30 p.m., Rs 7.11 crore in cash was withdrawn from the HDFC Bank currency chest, loaded into the truck, and taken for ATM refilling.

According to the complaint, CMS Fleet Manager Faroq Pasha received a call from driver Binod Kumar, who informed him that while travelling from Ashoka Pillar towards Lalbagh Siddapur Gate, five to six men arrived in an Innova car bearing registration number KA-03-NC-8052. They identified themselves as RBI officials and instructed custodian Aftab and gunmen Rajanna and Thammaiah to get down from the vehicle and sit inside the Innova.

They then asked Binod Kumar to drive the cash-refill vehicle. Binod Kumar claimed he did not know where his colleagues were taken. He later stated that the gang threatened him with a gun and robbed Rs 7.11 crore in cash on the Dairy Circle flyover.

The complainant said he immediately checked the vehicle’s GPRS and confirmed that it was near Dairy Circle on Hosur Road. Security Manager Syed Amzad Pasha then alerted the police control room. A company technician examined the vehicle and later informed them that the robbers had taken away the DVR installed in the truck.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the robbery occurred on a stretch falling under the jurisdiction of three police stations. The flyover where the incident took place lies at the intersection of these station limits. The gang also snatched the mobile phones of all four staff members.

It may be recalled that the major incident of robbery took place in broad daylight in Bengaluru on Wednesday, where a gang looted Rs 7.11 crore from a vehicle that was transporting cash for ATM refilling.

The Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh has issued instructions to place the city on high alert. Orders have been given to intensify vehicle checks, especially at the city borders, where barricades have been set up to prevent the accused from escaping Bengaluru.

The gang used a fake number plate on the Innova car for the robbery. The number KA 03 NC 8052 was fitted onto the Innova. This number actually belongs to a Swift car from Kalyan Nagar, police said.

The staff of the cash refill vehicle reportedly informed the authorities late after the incident, raising doubts. Questions are being asked about why the gunmen present did not use their weapons. All these angles are being thoroughly investigated.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor