Pune: Robbers attack cash van custodian, flee with over Rs 25 lakh

‘Culprits watched movement of van, planned crime’

The incident took place near the LIC office in Yamuna Nagar area of Nigdi. (Express Photo)

A gang of four unidentified persons attacked and robbed Rs 25.61 lakh from a cash van in broad daylight, near the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) office in Yamuna Nagar area of Nigdi on Thursday afternoon. The robbers also attacked the custodian of the van, identified as Mahesh Ramchandra Patne (54), who was injured in the incident and had to undergo a surgery.

The incident took place at around 1 pm, after Patne and van driver Bhausaheb Takle (38) had collected the cash from the LIC building and were on their way back to the cash van, said police. One of the four robbers attacked Patne with a knife and snatched the cash bag from him, while his three accomplices arrived at the site on a motorcycle and a scooter. Patne tried to chase the robbers, but they pushed him away and fled from the spot on their two-wheelers.

A police team, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone III, Ganesh Shinde, officials of the Nigdi police station and Crime Branch officials rushed to the spot. Police officials said they were trying to get leads from footage of CCTV cameras at the site, which had videos of the robbery. Police suspect that it was a well-planned crime and the four men had studied the movements of the cash van before committing the robbery.

Most of the cash had been collected from LIC offices in Nigdi and Akurdi, while an amount of Rs 31,276 was collected from ABRL, Wakad, said police. “Investigation is on to identify and trace the robbers,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime, Bhanupratap Barge. Meanwhile, Pathak has lodged an offence in the case at the Nigdi police station.

Earlier, in a similar incident, Barnat Das Anthony, a manager with Amrapali Petrol Pump on Bibwewadi Kondhwa Road, was robbed of over Rs 27 lakh by two bike-borne suspects at knife point, around 11.30 am on March 26. Last month, the Crime Branch of Pune City Police had arrested five persons in connection with the incident.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories