MANGALURU: Four days after the Rs 7.5-crore cash van heist, Mangaluru police arrested three men from a forest in Kodagu and recovered Rs 6.3 crore from them on Tuesday. As it was raining in the forest, the men had even made a tent-like structure to ensure that the currency didn’t go wet. They were hiding there when the police swooped on them.
The arrested are Karibasappa (24) of Chitradurga, driver of Bolero jeep, gunman Poovanna (38), and Kariappa alias Kashi (46) of Kodagu district who allegedly helped the gang. The cash custodian Parashuram was also detained by the police for questioning, but his involvement is yet to be confirmed. One more gunman Basappa is absconding.
Police had formed a team headed by ACP (South) Shruthi and ACP (CCRB) Valentine D’Souza following the heist. The team, with help from Kodagu police, nabbed the trio from the forest in Kumbaragadige, 20 km from Somwarpet.
Police said the remaining Rs 1.2 crore may be in the possession of the rest of the gang, who are yet to be arrested.
The money was reported stolen on Friday morning after four employees of a cash logistics firm Prosegur Holdings, who were ferrying Rs 7.5 crore from the Yeyyadi branch of Axis Bank in Mangaluru to the Koramangala branch in Bengaluru on Thursday, went missing along with the cash. The Bolero van was found abandoned near Hunsur in Mysuru district.
Mangaluru Commissioner of Police M Chandra Sekhar said on Tuesday, “Driver Karibasappa, custodian Parashuram, gunmen Poovappa and Basappa were assigned to transfer the money on May 11. Instead, they decided to cheat the bank and drove their vehicle to Hunsur.”
When asked if any other staff of the bank was involved in the case, the officer refused to divulge anything claiming that the investigation was still on and would hamper its progress.