BENGALURU: A day after the daring daylight robbery of Rs 7.11 crore from a cash van near Dairy Circle, the getaway Toyota Innova MUV was spotted in Tirupati, but the accused are still on the run. The suspects are believed to have fled the scene in a different vehicle with the money.
The Tirupati police, along with the Bengaluru South Division police, are reviewing CCTV footage from around Tirupati and checking every hotel, lodge, and homestay in the area. The robbers’ gang allegedly changed the number plate of the vehicle. They were reportedly moving around Bengaluru with a Karnataka registration number before the robbery.
The Banaswadi-Kalyananagar gang was seen on CCTV footage near Dairy Circle Flyover and a bar two days before the robbery. They were riding a bike and had tea at a shop before committing the crime. The gang is suspected to have planned their escape route carefully, avoiding areas with CCTV cameras.
On Wednesday, the robbers followed the CMS vehicle from JP Nagar HDFC Bank and blocked the vehicle on the Ashok Pillar- Siddapurs Road where there were no CCTV cameras. The robbers claimed to be RBI officials and showed ID cards. They threatened the CMS staff, saying they were transporting money illegally.
The robbers overpowered the two gunmen and one custodian and transferred the money to their Innova vehicle. They took the CMS staff’s mobile phones and left the guns in the CMS van. The robbers then drove towards Nimhans, instructing the CMS vehicle to move. The entire incident took around 5-6 minutes.
The robbers instructed the driver to stop the vehicle near Nimhans, made the CMS staff get out of the vehicle near Nimhans ATM and told them to take a bus. The robbers then drove the CMS van and Innova towards Dairy Circle and stopped the vehicles on the Dairy Flyover, which had no CCTV cameras.
The gang quickly transferred the cash trunks from the CMS van to the Innova. They also removed the CCTV DVR from the CMS van and took it with them. The robbers left the gunmen’s guns and mobile phones in the CMS van and escaped. After driving some distance, the robbers removed the fake number plate from the vehicle.
Four Joint Commissioners have been assigned to monitor the case, with 18 Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) working around the clock to catch the robbers. Multiple teams, including the L&O, CCB, and traffic police, are involved in the search operation ando ver 100 CCTV footages have been reviewed so far.
The police are tracking the robbers’ movements through CCTV footage, mobile tower dump and other sources. The police are examining CCTV footage from the time of the robbery to the suspects’ possible escape routes. The footage is being analyzed to identify the suspects’ movements and track their escape path.
