TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Three persons, including a driver of a Pune based company, who were engaged for ferrying cash to replenish ATMs of State Bank of India at Ahmednagar (Maharashtra) were arrested from a Miramar hotel Monday, police said, after the trio fled from Pune two days ago with an iron box containing Rs 1.16 crore cash.
Driver Pramod alias Babu Baban Ingale, Sandip Kadam and Santosh Sonadkar were arrested in a joint operation by Lonikand Police (Pune) and Panjim police.
The robbery occurred at about 6:15pm on Saturday, July 20 when Pramod, two officials of a private security agency and an armed security guard stopped at an ATM located in a petrol pump at Wagholi. The two
officials got out with one container to deposit cash in the ATM and pulled down the shutter after entering it, while the guard stood outside the ATM.
Panjim police inspector Rajendra Prabhudesai told reporters that since Pramod knew exactly how this was done again, he reversed the vehicle with the other cash container in it and stopped around 500 meters to a waiting vehicle in which the other two accused were already present.
“The security agency’s vehicle was abandoned after transporting the cash container in the other van,” he said. The police were alerted and Pramod’s photographs were flashed at all police stations and border check-posts.
Prabhudesai said the accused fled to Nanded in their van and then to Hyderabad. They abandoned the van in Hyderabad and boarded a bus to Goa with the cash container.
“They stayed at a Miramar hotel and hired a tourist taxi to travel to various places here,” he said. The three went river cruising in a GTDC boat, toured Old Goa and Baga beach.
The police have obtained a transfer warrant from the Court and left for Pune with the accused persons late Monday evening via road.
