Bengaluru cash van heist cracked: How a constable 'trained' gang for robbery

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh and other senior officials pose for photographs with recovered cash in connection with the ₹7.11 crore robbery in Bengaluru. (Image: PTI)

In a major breakthrough, Bengaluru Police have solved the high-profile ATM cash-van robbery, with six arrests, including a police constable, and recovery of Rs 6.29 crore within a few days of the incident.

The heist took place on November 19. Six states, 200 cops, a mountain of phone data and CCTV footage dump later, the Bengaluru police have finally cracked the case.

According to investigation, the gang did three months of planning, 15-day recce, chose spots outside CCTV coverage, multiple vehicles with fake number plates, and communicated in different languages via WhatsApp calls to avoid detection, Times of India reported.

They were reportedly assisted by an insider for the daring daylight heist.

Following the heist, personal from crime branch were sent to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Three people - Annappa, Xavier and Gopal Prasad - were arrested based on CCTV footage and Rs 5.76 crore was recovered from them.

Based on their interrogation, three other accused were nabbed from a lodge in Hyderabad and Rs 53 lakh was recovered. Police are now on the lookout for two more suspects and are yet to recover the remaining Rs 82 lakh of the total Rs 7.11 crore heist.

Constable trained the robbers

As per a TOI report, police constable Naik trained the group in executing the theft without leaving easy clues, while the CMS transport in-charge provided real-time movement details of the cash van. Xavier received the cash once the gang exited the city.

An SUV used in the heist was found in Chittoor district, containing broken cash chests.