Four robbers attack cash van, tie up security men, flee with Rs 16 lakh

MUMBAI: Four armed men robbed a private cash van of Rs 16 lakh on Sion-Panvel Road in Mankhurd on Wednesday evening. This came 24 hours after two persons shot dead wine shop-owner, Sajnish Singh Chawla, in Goregaon and fled with Rs 4 lakh.

The Securitrans (India) Pvt Ltd van did not have any armed guard even though it was carrying more than Rs 2 crore. The robbers, however, could not break open the lock of a trunk which had Rs 37 lakh, Mankhurd police said.

The van had collected more than Rs 16 lakh from the Mankhurd railway ticket collection office and was on its way to Trombay when an Alto overtook it. “Four masked men, armed with choppers and firearms, came out and one of them tried to break open the front glass of the van. They tied up three securitymen inside and took a small trunk containing more than Rs 16 lakh, and fled in the car towards Sion Road,” said an officer.

A passenger in a passing autorickshaw alerted a police patrol van. She told police that some men had tied up some guards in the van and were beating them up. Locals even gave the car’s registration number, but it is suspected to be fake, said deputy commissioner of police (zone VI) Shaji Umap.

The Mankhurd police have registered a robbery case and city crime branch teams have started a parallel probe. Sources said police have secured closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the car at a junction at Sion-Panvel Road.