In a meticulously planned daylight robbery, armed men posing as officials from India’s central bank intercepted a cash van in the southern city of Bengaluru, making off with 70 million rupees ($800,000). A massive police operation is now underway to locate the suspects who executed the heist with alarming audacity.
According to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, the robbery occurred on Wednesday afternoon when six men in an SUV stopped the armored van on a busy road. The gang, brandishing a “Government of India” sticker on their vehicle, identified themselves as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials and demanded to inspect the cash transport documents.
In a clever tactical move, the impersonators instructed the two armed guards and the cash custodian to leave their weapons in the van and enter the SUV. The driver was then ordered to continue driving, followed closely by the assailants. After a few kilometers, the gang forced all the employees out, transferred the cash at gunpoint, and fled the scene.
Police sources confirm the SUV used had a fake license plate and have since been recovered. However, the suspects switched vehicles to escape, exploiting the area’s limited CCTV coverage. Authorities are investigating the possibility of an inside job, questioning whether employees of the cash transport service were involved.
Karnataka’s Home Minister expressed confidence that the case would be solved quickly, citing the successful resolution of a major gold theft from a bank vault in the same state just months prior.
By James Kisoo
