Cash custodian, who escaped with Rs 99 lakh, arrested

The city police have arrested a 28-year-old custodian of a cash management firm in Adugodi and his associate on the run with Rs 99 lakh since May 1.

The accused, Kishore Kumar, worked as a cash custodian at the Secure Value and was responsible for loading cash at the ATMs of SBM, SBI, ICICI, HDFC, Axis and other banks.

Kumar took away around Rs 99 lakh on May 1 and did not attend work from the following day. The management grew suspicious after Kumar’s unauthorised absence and held an audit to find Rs 99.13 lakh missing. The company also found the ATMs Kumar was loading showed discrepancies in cash deposits and learnt he had taken the money away.

Based on a complaint filed by Raju A N, manager at Secure Value, the police probed the case and found Kumar working in tandem with his friend, Rakesh Samuel. They arrested them on Tuesday and recovered Rs 95 lakh.

A senior police official said the accused hoarded the money in parts at their friends’ houses. They had planned to escape to another city and start a new life with the money they swindled.

Though the accused confessed to stealing only Rs 95 lakh, the company claimed it had lost Rs 99.13 lakh. The official said the police are trying to recover the remaining cash from them.