Posing as cops, 12 rob Rs 1.5 cr from contractor

The Central Crime Branch police arrested a gang of 12 people who posed as policemen and robbed Rs 1.5 crore being transported in a private car from Bengaluru to Davanagere on September 26. One of the gang members was a driver of a civil contractor.

The arrested gang members have been identified as Mallikarjun, Ganesh, Dadapeer, Ansar Pasha, Mujahid Pasha, Abdul Kaleem, Mateen Pasha, Wajid Pasha, Mohammed Rafi, Inayathulla, and Suhail Pasha.

Sleuths said Dadapeer worked as a driver for Kishore, a city-based civil contractor. Dadapeer was aware of the transaction and ganged up with his associates for the heist.

On September 26, the accused followed the car carrying the cash of Rs 1.5 crore, which Dadapeer drove to Davanagere with a staff member for company. Posing as policemen, the accused intercepted the car at Goraguntepalya junction near RMC Yard and pulled it over on the roadside on the pretext of checking it.

They transferred the cash bag to their car and asked one of their associates — Ganesh — to drive the car to the police station. Ganesh drove the car to the JC Nagar police station, where he parked it at the entrance and went inside, pretending to report the matter to his seniors.

According to the plan, Dadapeer was to wait outside the police station with his colleague, act as if he realised he had been cheated and report the robbery to his boss, Kishore. When they reported the incident, Kishore asked them to file a complaint at the RMC Yard police station.

Considering the duping of Rs 1.5 crore, the RMC Yard police referred the case to the CCB police, who, on suspicion, took Dadapeer into custody. A detailed questioning resulted in Dadapeer confessing to the crime. Based on his confession, the police arrested his associates. The Kyatsandra police had already arrested Inayathulla, Pasha and Kaleem in a different case. Further investigations are on.