Hyderabad: Hyderabad city police arrested a cash van driver within 48 hours for allegedly fleeing with Rs.9.63 lakh meant for bank deposit.
The accused, Shaik Rahman, 46, from Bowenpally, allegedly escaped with two cash bags after abandoning the vehicle near King Koti on May 19.
Police said the incident took place when cash custodians entered the State Bank of India branch at Bank Street, Koti.
Meanwhile, the gunman briefly left the vehicle unattended.
According to investigators, complainant Gaddam Mallesh, another cash custodian, the gunman and the accused driver began cash collection duties at around 9 am on May 19.
After collecting money from several business establishments, the team reached the SBI branch at around 2.20 pm. They arrived there to deposit the collected cash.
Cash van driver fled with money bags
Police said the custodians carried part of the cash into the bank. However, they left Rs.19 lakh in five bags inside the vehicle. Meanwhile, the gunman stepped away briefly to use the washroom.
Taking advantage of the situation, the cash van driver allegedly fled with the transit vehicle.
Later, police found the abandoned vehicle near the District Hospital at King Koti. After opening the vehicle with a duplicate key, officials discovered that two cash bags were missing.
According to police, one bag contained Rs.5.88 lakh. The second bag reportedly carried Rs.3.75 lakh.
Cash van driver tracked through surveillance
Using technical surveillance, a special team from Sultan Bazar Police Station tracked the accused to Kalaburagi in Gulbarga. Subsequently, police arrested him from a guest house near the bus stand on May 21. The police team recovered Rs.9.53 lakh in cash from the accused. In addition, officers seized a mobile phone, a travel bag and the vehicle key. The arrest was made by Sultan Bazar SHO G. Naresh. SI D. Venu and constables C. Sandeep and K. Abhilash assisted in the operation.
The ACP of Sultan Bazar Division supervised the investigation.