Cash van looted in Pandav Nagar, Rs 5 lakh stolen

A cash van was looted in broad daylight in East Delhi’s Pandav Nagar area when it came to refill the cash in State bank ATM. The assailants who came on a bike fired three rounds and fled with a suitcase containing Rs 5 lakh. This is the first cash van loot post demonetisation in the national Capital.

The incident happened at around 2 pm on Monday afternoon when a cash van stopped at a roadside State Bank of India ATM to refill it with cash. As soon as the cash suitcase was being taken to the ATM, three men attacked the van staff and fired three rounds. The cash van guard tried to put on some resistance but was overpowered by the young assailants. After snatching the suitcase full of money, the attackers fled on a pulsar bike. 

“As I got down, three men attacked and fired at me. The bullet just passed my head. I caught hold of one of the attackers and wrestled with him. He tried snatching my gun but could not succeed. I fired at the attackers but missed,” said cash van guard Kishan Pal showing the cover of his gun that got torn in the scuffle.

The incident also shocked the shopkeepers of the area who were stunned by the incident in day time.

“It was business as usual before I heard two gunshots near my shop. I rushed out to see and saw the guard and one man were in a fight. The attacker also fired at the guard from point blank range but missed. They had covered their faces with mufflers,” said an eyewitness who runs his shop just adjacent to the ATM where the incident happened.

The cash van that was looted belonged to Brinks that has its office in Janakpuri. Sources say that the cash van started at around 11 am from Janakpuri and refilled cash at three places before it halted at Pandav Nagar.

Along with the driver and armed guards the cash van also had two cashiers and one auditor. All five are being questioned by the cops.

“We have collected the CCTV footage from the area and are investigating the route of the attackers. It seems they were following the van. We have formed several teams to nab the criminals,” said DCP East Ombir Singh.