The gang involved in the Rs44 lakh dacoity took the private travel agency and Cash Management Services (CMS) for a ride.The way they fooled them also exposed the negligence of the officials running these agencies.

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The SUV the miscreants used in the heist was stolen. They lifted the Tata Sumo (KA-50-1924) parked in front of a software company on July 6 from KR Puram.  

They changed the registration number before attaching it with N cash Tours and Travels in JC Nagar on July 24. The next day, the travel agency, in turn, attached it with it with CMS. On July 27, Sikandar Pasha presented himself at the travel agency and CMS to transport cash to ATM centres of the State Bank of India.

He introduced himself as Shivraj. “The agencies readily believed him. They did not ask him to provide his licence or any identity proof,” said deputy commissioner of police (north) HS Revanna.Two days before that, another driver, known to the miscreants, was transporting cash.

 Sikandar lied to the agencies that the other driver was indisposed and he had come in his place. CMS officials then told him to take the two cash custodians to ATM centres, said assistant commissioner of police (Yeshwanthapur sub-division) N Hanumanthappa.“How come the CMS or the travel agency assigned the job to someone without doing his background check? This is a clear case of negligence,” said Revanna.“CMS is not the only agency which is violating RBI’s guidelines on security measures. Last week, I noticed another SUV, engaged by an agency, carrying cash to ATM centres. I told them not to load cash in ATMs and sent them back,” said Hanumanthappa.When questioned, the arrested said they hatched the plan as they realised that many vehicles carrying cash to ATM centres were not well protected, said Revanna.

 For instance, they knew that the cash van would be manned by a single gunman who may not be physically strong or properly trained or equipped to foil such dacoities, he said.

“We keep telling travel and security agencies to collect full details about the employees they plan to hire or have recently hired. But they are not following our instruction seriously. We once again will tell them to follow our words,” said commissioner of police BG Jyothi Prakash Mirji.

Before the gang got into the vehicle, it threatened the CMS employees by claiming to be the group that had committed the `1.91-crore daylight robbery in RT Nagar on May 14. The miscreants’ threat worked as the CMS employees froze upon and did not offer any resistance to them.