Negligence, violation of security norms helped robbers

The City police on Monday said lack of security measures, violation of norms and grave negligence on the part of the security agencies were the main reasons for the Rs 1.91 crore daylight heist at R T Nagar.

“These people had not taken even the minimum security measures. The CMS Security Agency (CMSSA) erred by employing Centaurus Security Agency (CSA) to transport money. What’s more shocking is they decided to hire a private car to transport the cash, defying norms.

The car did not have proper protection. The driver did not belong to the security agency, but to a private travel agency,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) T Suneel Kumar.

It is not clear whether Somanna Shetty, the guard, had proper training to handle the single-barrel rifle. He had only four cartridges.

Police are verifying whether the cash boxes were insured and the Corporation Bank had any agreement related to insurance with the CMSSA.

In the past, insiders have been involved in many such incidents. Monday’s incident clearly points to the role of insiders.

According to police, cash transporters would take the 80 Feet Road in RT Nagar every day to go to different ATM centres. However, they opted for a different route on Monday — the less populated and interior roads. The four persons who were carrying the money did not give a convincing reply when the police quizzed them about the route, said an officer probing the incident.

“It is not clear how many suspects were involved. Some say it was 10 and some others claim it was 15. When asked, the four men in the car said they could not count the number of robbers as they were unable to come out of the vehicle,” said Suneel Kumar.

Anand said in his complaint to the police that they had deposited Rs 13 lakh at a Corporation bank ATM around 11 am and were moving towards Hebbal when the incident took place. He said the suspects took away Rs 1.60 crore.

Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji, after visiting the spot, said the total amount robbed was Rs 1.87 crore. When asked, Suneel Kumar said the amount was Rs 1.91 crore.

The duo was returning to the bank after collecting the cash from Mandya District Co-operative Milk Producers Society’s union branch office at New Income Tax Layout near Vijayanagar. Police arrested five persons and recovered around Rs 19 lakh.

Three gunmen of a private security agency were charged with involvement in the heist.
Such incidents are not new to the City. A four-member gang attacked two staffers of Axis Bank and fled with Rs 29.1 lakh in June 2010.

In another incident in Jayanagar in November 2011, two men took away a bag containing Rs 45 lakh kept in a car. The cash belonged to Arjuna Souharda Co-operative Society in Malleswaram, which also runs a bank.

Two staff members of the bank were carrying the money from Jayanagar to Mallesw- aram when the incident occurred. Police solved the case after several months and recovered around Rs 38 lakh.

A four-member gang entered a vehicle carrying the money in JP Nagar, threatened the two men inside the vehicle, guarding the money, and fled with the cash boxes. Other staffers, who had to carry the money, had parked the vehicle near a hotel and were having lunch, throwing security norms to the wind. Those inside the vehicle at that time were the culprits in this incident, too.