Three men rob cash van of ₹12 lakh, gun down guard and cashier in Narela

The assailants struck as the deceased were about to put the money, which they had collected, in their cash van.

Three bike-borne robbers gunned down a cash van guard and a cashier before taking away nearly ₹12 lakh from the parked van in Narela on Thursday afternoon.

Police believe the robbers may have fled to neighbouring Haryana. (HT Photo)

Till evening, the police had not identified the two men. Police suspect they may have crossed over to neighbouring districts of Haryana. The incident comes days after a custodian and guard of a bank cash van were injured in Narela during a robbery bid.

The two deceased employees in Thursday’s incident were identified as Rajnikant (cashier), 50, and Prem Kumar (guard), 40. The two, along with driver Kailash Kumar, 27, were deployed with the cash van that was collecting money from liquor vends in Narela area.

According to police, the three men struck at around 2.30 pm outside a wine shop in DSIIDC Narela.

“They had collected the money from the shop which was the fourth or the fifth shop they had visited. After collecting the money, the driver, who had the keys, opened the cash chest inside the van and stood there. The two victims then put the note bundles inside the van,” said deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta.

Even before the employees could lock the cash chest, three men on a bike reached there. They first shot down Prem Kumar and then fired at Rajnikant who sustained several bullet injuries.

“The accused then took away the money from the cash van. The total money that is missing is calculated to be around Rs. 11.96 lakh. After this, they fled the scene,” said Gupta.

The owner of the liquor vend then made a call to the police control room. A PCR team reached the spot and rushed the victims to Raja Harischchandra Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries, said Gupta.

The police are now questioning the driver and other employees of the cash management company where the deceased employees worked. A senior police officer said that prima facie they suspect an insider could be involved as the entire episode appeared to be a well planned one.

“ As the incident took place near the Haryana border, there is a possibility of Haryana based criminal(s) doing it. Considering the knowledge of the criminals, there may be some insider involved in giving the information,” said Gupta.

Investigators are also scanning the CCTV footages to find out if the victims were being followed along the routes.