Bengaluru heist: Cash van found abandoned; driver still missing

A logistics driver who drove away with Rs 1.37-crore from the city centre remained at large while his cash van was found abandoned in a residential area, police said on Thursday.

"We found the white-and-yellow cash van (KA 03 AC 7037) abandoned at Vasanthanagar in the city along with Rs 45 lakh in cash but no trace of accused driver J. Dominic," Deputy Commissioner of Police N.M. Anucheth told IANS here.

Of the money recovered from the van, Rs 10 lakh were in Rs 100 denomination and the remaining (Rs 35 lakh) in the new Rs 2,000 denomination.

Police are investigating why Dominic left behind Rs 45 lakh in the pick-up van before fleeing with the remaining Rs 92 lakh in Rs 100 and Rs 2,000 denominations on Wednesday afternoon.

"The search for Dominic is on. We have also given a look-out notice at all airports to prevent him from flying out of the country, as his wife works in Dubai," Anucheth said.

Dominic's wife, who came to the city from Dubai a fortnight ago with their son, also left his house in the city's northeast suburb after police quizzed her on Wednesday night on his whereabouts.

Dominic, 45, fled in the cash van with the booty from the K.G Road in the central business district on Wednesday when two employees of Logi-Cash Solutions Ltd., which handles cash for many banks, went inside the state-run Bank of India branch to collect cash, while the security guard got down to relieve himself nearby.

The guard's rifle was found in the abandoned van.

The logistics agency recently hired Dominic on contract to drive its cash van for collecting cash from banks and depositing them in their ATMs across the city.

--IANS

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