Months of planning, one technical clue: How Bengaluru police busted state’s biggest cash-van heist

BENGALURU: Despite months of planning and meticulous attempts to stay off the radar, a few mistakes by the heist gang helped city police crack the state's biggest cash-van robbery case in a span of three days. What the gang thought were precautions became the clues that unravelled the heist.

According to senior officers, the gang spent three months plotting the robbery and conducted a 15-day recce, taking extraordinary precautions — the accused avoided CCTV zones, switched off mobile phones, and used WhatsApp and VPN calls on the day of the crime. But their over-planning led to a few avoidable errors that became decisive leads for investigators.




City police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh confirmed that a technical clue found at the crime scene was the first major crack in the gang's airtight plan. This clue, which police will not disclose to prevent future misuse by criminals, helped them zero in on police constable Annappa Naik, who was picked up for questioning when he reported for night duty on Nov 20.

Once Naik was detained, the investigation rolled rapidly. The following morning, police detained Gopal Prasad, the CMS transport in-charge. Further analysis revealed that Naik had stayed in contact with Xavier, a former CMS employee who quit a year ago — another link the gang failed to sever. Their continued communication and proximity raised further red flags.

Another error: although the gang avoided toll roads to prevent CCTV capture, their abandoned Innova in Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh — left in a secluded spot — became a critical piece of physical evidence. Police traced the vehicle, inspected the broken cash chests, and used this to map the gang's escape routes.

The suspects also split and travelled across states — Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana — but inconsistently. Xavier used public transport, making it easier to track him. Three others — Ravi, Naveen, and Nelson — moved in a hired private car, which police traced and intercepted in Hyderabad, recovering Rs 53 lakh.

Meanwhile, Naik and Gopal made a major misjudgment by returning to work as usual, assuming it would deflect suspicion. Instead, their attempt to appear normal placed them under greater scrutiny. Investigators reviewed CMS employee records and identified Xavier as a recently resigned worker, tightening the noose further.

Police teams followed Xavier across Chennai and Hosur before finally arresting him late Friday night.

VPN calls, shadow zones, fake plates

• The miscreants used two vehicles — an SUV (Toyota Innova) and a Maruti WagonR. Both vehicles were fitted with fake number plates to mislead police investigation

• The gang used VPN or WhatsApp calls to communicate among themselves. They avoided speaking in Kannada to mislead the cops

• On the day of the crime, most of them had switched off their phones

• They carried out recce of the route for 15 days and spotted the shadow areas beyond the reach of CCTV surveillance

• Initially waylaid the cash-carrying vehicle near Ashoka Pillar and then took the cash on the flyover of Dairy Circle

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