Two men, who were part of group who robbed Rs 1.95 cr from ATM cash van on Friday have been arrested; accused said they left behind Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes because they would be of 'lesser value'
Two men have been arrested and several others detained in connection with the Rs 1.95-crore heist of a van carrying cash for ATM machines in Vile Parle. The surprising development, however, is that the robbers actually left behind a sum of Rs 18 lakh in the van. The reason? They were in notes of smaller denominations.
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Pic for representation
The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested two men identified as Tariq Rehamatulla Khan (30), the driver of the van, and one Balasaheb Mungerwar. On Friday afternoon, the van was loaded with Rs 2.13 crore in cash at the bank’s Lower Parel office. The van had the security guard, Sadre Alam, driver Khan, and two others.
Alam asked the van to stop near Worli Naka, saying he had some work and would send tea for the group. At 7.30 pm, the two others started to feel drowsy Khan had the tea not laced with sedatives and a white Zen then intercepted the vehicle. Robbers from the vehicle looted R1.95 crore and, along with Alam, escaped. mid-day had reported on this incident on January 17.
Police suspect Alam to be the mastermind of the heist, who is still to be caught. During interrogation, Khan told the police he had not felt drowsy, which aroused suspicion against him. Police said every member of the gang was given a particular share for his work.
Cops recovered Rs 30 lakh from Khan and Rs 3 lakh from Mungerwar the latter was in the white Zen. Khan was about to escape to his hometown with the booty when he was arrested from his residence in Prem Nagar, Goregaon. Mungerwar was also arrested from the same area. Several others in the case are still absconding, police said.
When asked why they had left behind Rs 18 lakh, the arrested accused said they had only taken cash in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, while all notes of Rs 50 and Rs 100 had been left behind.
This, the accused said, was because the smaller currency would occupy more space, make their bags heavy, and wouldn’t have much value. As investigations continue, more arrests in the case are likely to be made.
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