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Probe into ₹7.11-cr heist expanded to Andhra
Bengaluru police are investigating a ₹7.11 crore robbery from a cash van, pursuing leads across state lines and reviewing surveillance footage for suspects.
The city police on Thursday said they were pursuing multiple leads in the daylight robbery of ₹7.11 crore from a van owned by a cash management system firm, adding that the enquiry now spanned across borders into Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters in the city, home minister G Parameshwara said, “It is yet to be clear which vehicle was used by them during the escape. It was verified that they had changed the vehicles and moved the money. Investigations are on to ascertain if this vehicle has left the state. One vehicle (Toyota Innova) they used in the heist contained the registration number belonging to a Maruti Suzuki Swift,” he said.
He added that officers are reviewing surveillance footage across the city to determine whether the group was local or from outside the state
The robbery occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, when the men allegedly intercepted the van near Jayanagar while posing themselves as RBI officials. They allegedly held the driver at gunpoint before fleeing with the cash near the Dairy Circle flyover.
“The operation may have involved at least three vehicles, including an Innova, a Maruti Suzuki Zen, and a Wagon R. One of these cars is believed to have been used to cross the Hosakote toll shortly after the robbery,” said a senior officer.
He added that as the search expanded, agencies began examining whether the suspects had moved toward Tirupati. Several teams from the Bengaluru South Division, the Central Crime Branch, and Tirupati police have been sweeping hotels, lodges, and areas around the temple complex amid suspicion that the gang may be hiding in the city, even if the money has been moved elsewhere, he added. Surveillance has been intensified at key checkpoints, said the officer.
New leads emerged after investigators identified one suspect by comparing footage from Jayanagar and Dairy Circle with images of a previously arrested offender, said police. CCTV recordings show the men in the Dairy Circle area two days before the robbery, visiting a bar, arriving on a motorcycle, drinking tea nearby, and moving through parts of the stretch where cameras were sparse, they added.
Officers from Siddhapura Police Station and teams across the city have pieced together these movements through extensive CCTV reviews, said police.
Meanwhile, the Central Crime Branch detained two people in Kalyan Nagar after discovering that the gang used a car with a fake Uttar Pradesh registration plate, though the vehicle originally carried a Karnataka number. Investigators say the group allegedly used a Swift car registered in Kalyan Nagar and spoke in Hindi during the robbery to mislead witnesses.
Police also believe the group may have followed the CMS van from the HDFC Bank branch where the cash was loaded, though their Innova was not spotted at the location.
Officers suspect motorbike riders near the bank may have monitored the van’s movement and have begun collecting details of all two wheelers in the area at that time.
