Chandigarh: A group of armed robbers looted around ₹7 crore from the office of a cash management service company located in a posh residential area of Ludhiana in the wee hours of Saturday.
The robbers targeted the office of the private company, namely, CMS – Connecting Commerce located in Aman Park, New Rajguru Nagar, around 2 am; the said company provides services to different banks to fill ATM kiosks with currency notes thus handling huge cash on daily basis.
Though the incident was said to have happened around 1.30 pm, the police was informed about it only around 7 am, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Sidhu said while briefing newspersons.
Police suspect insider's job
Indicating the hand of someone having the knowledge about the company’s internal security measures, Sidhu said that according to company staff, there were about 10 robbers including a woman, who were armed with sharp-edged weapons and a gun. They also took away CCTV cameras and the DVR along with them, besides the huge cash.
The police commissioner said that according to the staff, the robbers locked the night duty staff – around seven including two armed security guards – inside a room and took away the cash in a company’s cash van which also had a huge amount in it. However, police found the abandoned van near village Mullanpur on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur road a few hours later. The van was found empty but for two weapons inside it.
No safety measures adopted
The police officer termed the incident as gross negligence on part of the company as the huge cash was not kept inside lockers available at the office but outside in the office. Stating that about ₹7 crore was said to have been looted, Sidhu said that the actual amount was yet to be ascertained. He also pointed out that it was surprising that two armed security guards did not show any resistance to the crime. Moreover, he added, the company also had information on papers that it was not a safe place to operate such a business.
Meanwhile, according to sources, the said locality had only one exit-road. It was seen to be a daring loot as the targeted office is a few meters away from the residence of a senior police officer of Punjab police.
