Notes stolen by driver of cash van found in Hyderabad

Some of the crisp new banknotes stolen by the driver of a cash van have been traced to Begumpet locality in Hyderabad. The Hyderabad police found the notes in circulation after their Bengaluru counterparts alerted them to the possibility of the driver having fled to the Telangana capital. 

In the run-up to the daring heist, the suspect, Dominic Selvaraj Roy, 45, was in constant touch with some people in Hyderabad and Chennai. The Bengaluru police alerted their Hyderabad counterparts and shared information on the series of the stolen banknotes. The Hyderabad police found some notes of that series being circulated in Begumpet. 

A team of policemen from Bengaluru then left for Hyderabad and detained some people who were found to be in possession of the notes, an inspector who is part of the investigation told DH on the condition of anonymity. 

Police are now trying to trace Roy by questioning some people detained in Begumpet. “Those detained may not be involved in the heist. We are trying to get information about people who circulated the notes,” the inspector said. 

Police believe that the November 23 heist was pulled off by a gang, of which Roy was just a part. His handlers were operating from Chennai or Hyderabad. Roy earlier worked at a security agency named CMS Securities Ltd.



He joined Secure Transit, a security firm that deals with banks, on November 1, said K S R Charan Reddy, Additional Commissioner of Police (West). 

On Friday, police impounded Roy’s driving licence that gave his name as Dominic Suresh Roy. Reddy said they were investigating whether Roy had multiple DLs, though he didn’t have a criminal record. Secure Transit has claimed that it checked his background before hiring him. 

While police do not rule out an inside job in the heist, M N Anucheth, DCP (West), said there had been no evidence so far to that effect. 

Police continue to question K M Shivakumar and Saleem, the two employees of Logicash Solutions, a cash management company, who were with Roy when he pulled in at the Bank of India branch on the busy KG Road. While Shivakumar and Saleem went into the branch, Chaman Lal, the security guard, got down to relieve himself. 

Sensing a golden opportunity, Roy just drove off, with Rs 1.37 crore in cash. The next day, police found the van abandoned in Vasanthnagar. They found Rs 45 lakh and a gun in it. Anucheth said they had no evidence as yet to link the three men to the heist. 

While Roy’s wife and son are missing, police are questioning other members of his family as well as his friends in an attempt to track him down.