It took a team of 200 police officers 54 hours to solve one of the most sensational daylight ATM robberies that took place on November 19.
On Saturday (November 22), police arrested a police constable and a CMS fleet manager and its former employee as key conspirators in the case.
The main conspirators were identified as Annappa Naik, J. Xavier and Gopal Prasad who were arrested and a substantial part of the stolen cash of ₹ 5.76 crore was recovered.
A few hours later, another team of police arrested three more accused from the lodge in Hyderabad. The accused, identified as Naveen, Nelson and Ravi, were traced through CCTV footage which eventually confirmed their presence when they checked in.
The police also recovered ₹53 crore from their possession, taking the total amount in the case to ₹6.23 crore.
A team led by Inspector Ninganagouda and Sub-Inspector Kishore traced the trio to Hyderabad, where they had taken refuge after the robbery. The accused were taken back to Bengaluru for further questioning.
The latest arrest brings the number of accused in the case to six, while two more suspects are at large. Police teams have intensified efforts to trace the absconding accused and recover the remaining ₹67 crore.
City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, while congratulating the team and announcing a reward of ₹5,000, said efforts were on to trace the remaining accused.
He said the heist was carefully planned and almost perfect, which was solved in record time.
On November 19, at around 1:20 PM, CMS reported that a box van containing ₹7.11 crore currency was hijacked by a gang posing as RBI officials near Siddapura Lalbagh Road.
The gang intercepted the van and took two security personnel in the car on the pretext of investigation, while another accused boarded the van and asked the driver to drive towards the Dairy Circle flyover.
He later stopped the vehicle near the flyover, took the cash register at gunpoint and fled, while the other accused dropped security guards on the way and the cashier fled the scene to join the other accused with the cash register. The police received information about the robbery an hour and a half later due to the confusion and lack of coordination among the employees, which was investigated.
This helped the accused to escape from the city after exchanging vehicles with fake number plates.
Problems cracking the case
The robbery was carried out with careful planning and almost no operative mistakes, the police said. Several CCTV blind spot stops were made. No cell phones were used during the operation. The gang communicated in several languages to mislead investigators. Several vehicles with frequent license plate changes were used.
The stolen currency was not serialized, making it difficult to trace. Initial media reports based on anecdotal inputs affected sensitive parts of the investigation.
“Despite these obstacles, the Bengaluru police quickly cracked the case through coordinated teamwork and intensive technical analysis,” Mr. Singh said.
Investigation
A massive multi-layered investigation has been launched with teams comprising 11 police inspectors, two police sub-inspectors from the South Division and six police officers from the Central Crime Branch.
Technical and field leads were followed in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with some teams expanding operations to Goa.
Over 30 people were interviewed. CCTV footage, vehicle movement patterns and local news reports were continuously analysed.
Within 24 hours, police had identified the suspects and the vehicles used in the robbery, officials said.
Breakthroughs
The three accused were identified and apprehended within 54 hours of the crime and ₹5.76 million of the stolen cash was recovered within 60 hours. The vehicle used in the event was located and secured. The gang had around six to eight members involved in the planning, execution and movement of the stolen cash.
Police teams are trying to trace the remaining accused in several states to recover the remaining amount.
Published – 22 Nov 2025 21:44 IST
