Robbers posing as RBI and Income Tax officials loot ₹7 crore from HDFC cash van

Robbers posing as Income Tax and RBI officials looted ₹7.11 crore from an ATM cash van in broad daylight in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon, raising suspicions of inside involvement.

A daring incident took place in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, on Wednesday afternoon. A major robbery was carried out in a highly planned manner by 5 to 6 miscreants. The criminals posed as Income Tax and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials and looted an ATM van carrying cash in broad daylight before fleeing. Approximately ₹7 crore 11 lakh was looted from the ATM van in this incident that occurred on a busy flyover in South Bengaluru.

Armed guards were also present in the van

This incident occurred between approximately 12:30 PM and 1:00 PM when a cash van belonging to CMS Info Systems was travelling from HDFC Bank, JP Nagar, to HBR Layout, 22 kilometres away. The cash was present in three boxes inside the van. When the van reached near Jayanagar 2nd Block, Ashok Pillar, a small hatchback car, a Maruti Zen, blocked its path. At this time, besides the driver Binod Kumar, cash custodians Aftab and Rajanna, and two armed guards named Thammaiah were also present in the van.

Intimidated van staff by claiming they were violating rules

Upon the van stopping, three men quickly emerged from the Maruti Zen. Immediately after, an Innova and a larger vehicle (MUV) also arrived and stopped there. The three miscreants who got out of the Maruti approached the van and threatened the driver, saying, "We are RBI officials. We have received a complaint about your company violating RBI rules. We need to record your statements." They claimed they were there to investigate the company for carrying such a large amount of cash without permission. The CMS staff easily believed these fraudsters and left their weapons to board the MUV.

Van and its occupants separated

After this, the miscreants instructed the van driver to proceed to the Dairy Circle flyover and wait for the RBI officials. This location was three kilometres away from where the van was stopped. The driver, obeying the instructions of the men posing as officials, started moving forward, with the MUV carrying the other van staff following behind. Later, upon reaching Nimhans Junction, the MUV stopped, and the miscreants asked the van staff inside to get out. They told them, "You come to the police station; your statements will be recorded there. But before that, we have to take the cash to the RBI."

Incident occurred in the presence of armed guards

Hearing this, the other staff members started heading towards the Siddhapura Police Station, while the van driver proceeded to the Dairy Circle flyover to wait. Subsequently, the miscreants arrived there and, under the guise of an inspection at gunpoint, transferred the cash boxes from the van into the Maruti car. Following this, all the miscreants boarded the Maruti and fled the scene within moments, abandoning their MUV and the cash van. Upon receiving information about the incident, police officials arrived and took possession of the van. Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh stated that the van staff had delayed informing the police about the incident. He further added that two Deputy Commissioners of Police and one Joint Commissioner are leading eight special teams to solve the case.

Robbery planned for several days

In their preliminary investigation, the police believe that the robbery was planned for several days. The robbers were monitoring the movement of the ATM van. The investigation also revealed that the accused opened the rear door of the van and systematically placed the cash into their car. The police suspect internal collusion. The van driver delayed informing the police and kept changing his statement. The backgrounds of all the staff members are being investigated. Simultaneously, questions are being raised as to why the armed security personnel present in the van remained inactive in front of the robbers.