A cash collector riding with over Rs 8 lakh was ambushed on June 10 on an Indore bypass. Five accused—including mall staff and a Rapido rider—were arrested for the crime on Saturday.
The heist wasn’t random. It was rehearsed. Planned for weeks. Executed in daylight by Phoenix Citadel Mall insiders who knew exactly when the money would move.
The two mall employees shadowed the collector inside. Outside, a Rapido rider relayed live updates. It was all choreographed down to the minute.
At 1.30 pm, as the collector rode up the Kanadia bypass with the RCMS cash bag on his back, three masked men pulled up. One yanked the bag. He fell. They fled.
On being alerted, Kanadia Police under SHO Dr Saharsh Yadav swung into action. Within hours, they were retracing routes, pulling CCTV footage, and working phones. The dragnet was up.
Investigators soon zeroed in on the gang: Raj Pawar, Gungun Sirohiya, Gyanendu Sharma, Piyush ‘Prince’ Billore, and Vikas ‘Dau’. One woman, four men—all in their twenties.
The gang had picked the victim, tracked his routine, identified secluded spots. The plan was simple: isolate, snatch, vanish. And they very nearly got away with it.
The loot funded shopping sprees, fixed deposits, and gambling. But the clock ran out. Cops recovered Rs 4.2 lakh, an iPhone, the snatch bike and a Honda Activa.
Two accused—Vaibhav Nasikar and Prakash Mavi—are still on the run. But the police net is closing. The inside-job precision of the crime only hardened the response.
Police have now issued a public advisory: verify employees, change cash routes, don’t stick to habits. Because the next heist may already be lurking..