New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The main accused in the infamous cash van heist here in September last year has been arrested, police said Friday.
Ompal Singh, 35, the driver of the van, had fled with Rs.51 lakh after drugging three bank employees who were with him in the vehicle Sep 28, 2012.
Singh, who was carrying a bounty of Rs.1 lakh, was arrested from Haiderpur area of north Delhi Thursday on a tip-off.
Singh’s 30-year-old wife Geeta was arrested in October 2012 and Rs.47 lakh was recovered from her.
According to police, the accused is a history-sheeter and lived in west Delhi’s Kanjhawla area. He was absconding for the last seven to eight years.
“Ompal was involved in several cases of robbery, theft and snatching. The couple used to keep shifting their base to evade surveillance,” said an official.
Singh had got a driver’s job with a private security company and had told his wife that he would decamp with the cash after drugging his colleagues. The couple rented a flat in west Delhi’s Narela 10 days before the crime.
The accused had fled with the cash van after drugging gunman Brijesh and Hemant and Yogesh, employees of security firm Logi Cash Solution Pvt Ltd, which replenishes cash from banks to various ATMs in Delhi.
They left their Jhandewalan office with Rs.81 lakh, which was to be loaded in ATMs. After loading Rs.30 lakh, the employees reached Ghanta Ghar where Singh offered them sweets laced with sedatives, which led to the three employees becoming unconscious.
The van was found abandoned near west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri metro station with the unconscious trio inside.
