BIDAR: Masked men who came on a motorcycle opened five rounds of fire at a cash van after throwing chilli powder at the faces of the employees of the cash management firm who were inside the vehicle, and made away with Rs 93 lakh in a daring robbery here on Thursday. One staffer of the cash management company died on the spot while another was in serious condition.
The incident occurred at Shivaji Circle in the heart of the town near the deputy commissioner’s office when the cash van, belonging to Securitrans, a private cash management firm, had set out to refill cash in ATMs. The company staff had withdrawn Rs 1 crore from the SBI main branch for the purpose. Surprisingly, the vehicle was not accompanied by the gunman, giving rise to several questions.
The masked duo on the motorcycle approached the cash van, threw chilli powder at the employees and opened five rounds of fire at them. While Giri Venkatappa died on the spot, the condition of Shivakumar is said to be serious. The attack was carried out when the cash boxes were being placed inside the cash van. The masked men snatched the boxes and fled.
In CCTV footage, the duo can be seen struggling to transport the cash box. One of them has a fall while trying to sit on the pillion seat along with the box. He then picks it up and hands it to the rider when the motorcycle falls to the other side. While lifting the motocycle, the box suddenly opens and some bundles of cash fall out. They quickly gather the fallen cash, put the box on the petrol tank of the motorcycle and ride away.
Bidar SP Pradeep Gunti said the robbery occurred between 10.55 am and 11 am in front of the SBI branch. “Two men attacked the cash management company staff when they were loading cash boxes into the van. One person is dead and another is seriously injured. The accused fled with one box of cash on their motorcycle”.
Raju Rajashekar, the driver of the cash van and an eyewitness to the incident, said, “Two people were getting the cash from inside the bank. I heard the sound of the firing. The men then escaped with the cash. Our gunman had said he will be an hour late”.
Forensic experts collected evidence from the spot while the dog squad was also called in. The body of the deceased was shifted to the BRIMS Hospital for post-mortem examination. The DIG (Northern range) also visited the spot.