Gang poses as RBI Officials, steals ₹7 Cr from cash van in Bengaluru

In a dramatic crime that seemed ripped straight from a Bollywood heist thriller, a group of unidentified men disguised as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials intercepted an ATM cash van in broad daylight on Wednesday and escaped with more than ₹7 crore, according to initial reports from PTI.

The incident took place between 12:30 pm and 1 pm when the CMS Info Systems van was transporting three cash boxes from an HDFC Bank branch in JP Nagar to HBR Layout, a 22 km route that proved long enough for the criminals to mount an audacious strike.

The convoy involved an MUV, two hatchbacks, and the armoured CMS vehicle.

A Heist unlike anything seen before

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara expressed shock, stating, “Probably never happened in Bengaluru before.”

Preliminary investigations revealed that the robbers arrived in a car marked with a ‘Government of India’ sticker and halted the van under the pretext of verifying documents. Once the staff complied, the men forcibly took control, pushing the employees and the cash into their own vehicle.

The gang drove toward Dairy Circle, where they abandoned the staff near a flyover before vanishing with the money.

Police scramble - citywide Nakabandi, multiple teams formed

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh confirmed the incident occurred within Siddapura police station limits earlier in the afternoon.

He noted that while the loss is estimated at ₹7 crore, the exact amount remains unverified due to discrepancies in the driver’s statements.

“There is nakabandi in the entire city… We have formed various teams. Our teams are on the ground as well as monitoring technical inputs from the control room. We will try to detect the case at the earliest,” Singh said.

Two DCPs and a Joint Commissioner are leading the investigation as police pore over CCTV footage to trace the getaway route and identify the suspects.

Unanswered questions

Authorities are still unsure how many people were involved. Additionally, the police are examining whether the cash van security team was armed and why there was a delay in reporting critical information.

“Information was not shared immediately… we are looking into all angles,” the Police Commissioner added.

As Bengaluru buzzes with theories and tension, the city waits for answers in what is quickly becoming one of its most sensational robberies in recent times.

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