Seven Arrested in India After Police Solve $800,000 Bank Heist

In a daring robbery in Bengaluru, seven people have been arrested for stealing ₹70 million (about $800,000) from an ATM cash transport van. The incident happened three days ago, but police quickly solved the case and recovered ₹57.6 million of the stolen money.

The police said the robbers pretended to be officials from the Reserve Bank of India to stop the cash van in the Lalbagh area during the day. They told the van’s staff they needed to check paperwork for such a large amount of cash. Then, they forced the cash custodian and two security guards into an SUV while one of the thieves took control of the cash van.

Authorities also found that the gang used fake vehicle registration plates and carefully chose places with little or no CCTV cameras to move the money. They even changed vehicles during the heist to avoid being caught.

Among those arrested are Gopal Prasad, an employee of the cash transport company CMS, J Xavier, a former CMS worker, and Annappa Naik, a local police constable. The police are still searching for two or three more suspects involved in the robbery.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said over 200 police officers worked together across Karnataka and neighboring states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Goa to catch the criminals.

The police are also investigating CMS, the cash transport company, for any possible violations in handling cash. Commissioner Singh warned that cash vans should not follow the same route and schedule regularly, as this makes them easy targets for criminals.

This case highlights the need for better security measures for cash transportation to prevent such bold crimes in the future. The police continue to investigate and hope to catch all the suspects soon.