On the outskirts of the city, on Sunday evening, a brazen crime took place, as four miscreants seized a cash pickup agent and proceeded to loot ₹31.38 lakh at weapon-point. It occurred approximately at 4:20 p.m on the fairly popular Sakalavara Road, within the jurisdiction of Bannerghatta Police Station.
The Ambush
The victim, Kailash, is a cash pick-up agent for the e-commerce platform Udaan. On the same day that the incident happened, Kailash had finished the rounds and collected ₹31,38,625 from the three branches of the company. He had stored the cash (the boot) in the boot of his TVS Jupiter scooter and was heading to Bannerghatta.
As he reached a stretch of Sakalavara Road, two motorcycles bearing four men suddenly swerved in front of him, forcing him to stop. They held long machetes (longs) and knives up into his face, threatening that if he resisted he was to die.
Escape and Recovery
The gang didn’t just take the cash; they seized Kailash’s scooter that held the cash and ran out. But to circumvent a timely examination, the perpetrators abandoned the stolen scooter about a kilometer away. Witnesses and police reports indicate the gang moved the cash into a waiting getaway vehicle probably a car, or another set of bikes before disappearing into the local lanes. Though Kailash escaped from the situation with little serious physical injury, the psychological trauma and scale of the loot has left the local community paralysed.
Police Inquiry and Viral Footage
Bannerghatta Police was posted scene right after the distress call. Senior officials have said several teams have been established to track the suspects.
- CCTV footage: Nearby surveillance cameras have been collected by police. The video reveals the clinical precision with which the gang worked, hinting that they may have been trailing Kailash for some amount of time.
- Modus Operations: The investigators believe an "insider" or "someone on the inside" who knew Kailash’s pickup route and schedule could be involved because the attackers knew precisely which bike to focus on and when to strike the day of the transit.
Security Concerns
In Bengaluru’s burgeoning suburban hinterlands, these daylight robberies have become a significant raise of concerns about the security of logistics and cash-handling agents and people operating it.
Current Status
There is also a case in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for dacoity and armed robbery within sections of the act. Currently, mobile tower dump and old criminal records of 'gangs of four' operating in the southern part of the city are being investigated by the police.
