Biggest heist in Delhi: Cash van driver makes off with Rs 22.5 crore

NEW DELHI: In what could be the biggest cash heist in the national capital, the driver of a cash transit van allegedly fled with around Rs 22.5 crore from southeast Delhi's Govindpuri area today.

In the incident which was reported at 5:45 PM, the armed guard accompanying the van asked the driver to stop the vehicle near Govindpuri Metro station so that he could relieve himself by the roadside, said police.

The driver, identified as Pradeep Shukla (35), told the guard that he would wait for him in a lane nearby and was last seen taking a sharp turn. When the guard returned, the vehicle and the driver were nowhere to be seen, said police.

The guard, Vinay Patel, informed the matter to his senior at the security agency operating for Axis Bank, whose cash they were carrying. Thereafter, the matter was reported to police.

Bank officials told police that they had sent four cash transit vans -- with total cash of around Rs 38 crore -- from their Vikaspuri branch in the day, and the van (DL 1LK 9189) which headed towards southeast Delhi was carrying around Rs 22.5 crore.

"The place of occurrence of the crime falls under the jurisdiction of Okhla police station and a team was rushed to the spot immediately," said DCP (Southeast) MS Randhawa.

However, the final evaluation of the heist would be possible only after the accused is nabbed, police said.

Personnel from at least two subdivisions of Delhi Police's southeast district were roped in along with a specialised crime team and the cash van was soon recovered from near a petrol pump close to the spot where the accused driver had deserted the guard.

However, the boxes containing the cash were missing, said police.

Senior police officials who rushed to the spot after the incident was reported maintained that this was not a case of robbery but criminal breach of trust.

Scores of pickets and police check points were set up across the city and checking was intensified at the borders to track down the accused, said police.

CCTV grabs have been obtained from nearby premises while eyewitnesses are being examined and several teams have been put on the case, police added.

Police said that this could be the biggest cash heist in Delhi after the January 2014 gunpoint robbery of Rs 7.69 crore from a businessman at BRT corridor near Moolchand flyover.