Accused splurged on parties after ATM heist

BENGALURU/MYSURU: Soon after committing the robbery near an ATM kiosk in Bagalgunte, the accused went to a party and splurged lakhs on it. They also distributed money among their friends. Within 24 hours of the robbery, the accused spent over Rs three lakh of the Rs 18.5 lakh looted. Rs 15.25 lakh has been recovered by police.

“Nitish and Rakesh, who have been arrested in this connection, are natives of Halaguru village. But, they were settled in Bengaluru. Soon after the robbery, the accused travelled to different places before coming to Malavalli town,” said Malavalli town police inspector Gangadhar who nabbed the accused. Malavalli in Mandya district is around 110 kms from Bengaluru.While Rakesh works for Secure Value, the private company that was entrusted with the responsibility of replenishing cash at ATM kiosks, Nitish works with a cable operator in Nandini Layout in Bengaluru. Police sources said another accused Maruti is on the run and he might also have taken some cash with him.

Mandya SP G Radhika said: “In the wee hours of October 31, police constables on night patrolling stumbled upon Nitish moving in a suspicious manner. He tried to escape on noticing the policemen, but was eventually apprehended. During interrogation, the police came to know about the cash heist in the state capital. Nitish also had a pocket knife in his possession.”Rakesh was later arrested on Wednesday and a black colour Pulsar motorbike used in the crime was seized.

Injured staff the mastermind?

Police do not rule out the involvement of Sagar, who was injured in the robbery incident, in the crime. It is possible that Sagar would have planned the entire heist, they say.
 Two bike-borne youth assaulted him while they were about to load an ATM with cash at Jalahalli Cross and fled with Rs 18.5 lakh on Monday morning. Assistant Sagar was holding the bag filled with cash when his custodian Mohan went to open the machine.

Chetan Singh Rathor, DCP (north division) said, “We suspect Sagar could be one of the accomplices. We would investigate his role once we get Rakesh and Nitish into our custody.”
Asked whether the bank or the company authorized to refill cash will be booked in the case, he said, “We will look into the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before taking any action.”