Karnataka
The 7.5 crore heist from Mangaluru: Robbers still at large, police team on the hunt
The robbers who ran away with Rs 7.5 crore meant for an ATM in Bengaluru are still absconding, and four days since the robbery, the police have little clue as to where they are.
On Thursday, four men who were working with a private cash management company, Sis Prosegur Holdings, were part of the team transporting Rs 7.5 crore from Mangaluru to an ATM in Bengaluru. They were entrusted with ferrying the cash from Axis Bank's Yeyyadi branch in Mangaluru to Bengaluru's Koramangala branch.
But when they didn’t reach their destination - an Axis bank ATM in Koramangala - at the scheduled time, the authorities at the bank were alerted about the incident.
The police though were unable to track their vehicle, reportedly because the GPS was faulty. Even as the police began their investigation, the Mahindra Bolero car in which the accused left on Thursday morning at 8.30am was spotted at Arasu Kallahalli, Chamarajanagar district in the state on Friday evening.
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner had formed a 16-member special team to track the case. The team is led by two Assistant Commissioners of Police - Shruthi amd Valentine D’souza.
The accused have been identified as Parashurama hailing from Hubbali, Karibasavaiah hailing from Chitradurga, and Basappa and Poovanna from Kodagu. Parashurama was the designated bank custodian while Karibasavaiah was the driver. Basappa and Poovanna worked as gunmen.
Police also suspect the involvement of Bheemayya, younger brother of Poovanna, as he is also missing from his Bengaluru residence.
Inspector Praveen Naik of Kankanady police station, where the case was filed told TNM said investigation is underway but refused to divulge further details.
The incident is reminiscent of another robbery in November 2016, when the driver of a van carrying money to fill an ATM in Bengaluru fled with Rs 1.37 crore on the busy KG road.
The van had three people and as soon as the gunman and a supervisor got down at the ATM, the driver sped away with the van.
Days after that the accused’s wife was arrested as she allegedly possessed a portion of the stolen money.
