Chennai: In a film-style heist, an unidentified gang drove away a car carrying Rs1.63 crore in cash collected at Tasmac outlets, after staging a road accident and diverting the driver’s attention near Oragadam in Kancheepuram district on Tuesday night. The car was later found abandoned nearly 10 km away, near an engineering college at Karanithangal, along with Rs 12 lakh in cash. The remaining Rs 1.51 crore is yet to be recovered. The culprits are yet to be identified or traced. The cash was collected from 25 TASMAC outlets.Police said Das, 52, a Chennai-based private bank collection agent, and Habeeb Rahman, a hired car driver, were transporting the sales proceeds when the incident occurred around 9.40pm. The duo stopped the vehicle at a Tasmac outlet near a forest area in Oragadam for another collection. While Das entered the shop, Rahman remained inside the vehicle with the cash amount.According to police, three suspects arrived on a motorcycle, wearing helmets. One got off nearby, while the other two deliberately scraped the rear of the car. When Rahman stepped out and chased the motorcyclists, leaving the keys inside, the third suspect drove away with the vehicle.Preliminary inquiries revealed that several employees of the private cash collection agency were on leave for Deepavali, and the team had been deployed in a hired car without an armed security guard.A senior TASMAC official said cash was normally collected using secured Cash-in-Transit (CIT) vehicles accompanied by two armed guards. TASMAC has sought an explanation from the private bank over using an hired car. A senior police officer said they were investigating whether the gang had prior knowledge of the collection schedule and route.Police said the possibility of insider involvement was also being examined, and that Das and Rahman were also being questioned to establish the sequence of events.Based on Das’s complaint, Oragadam police registered a case of theft and are investigating. Five special teams have been formed to trace the suspects. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the TASMAC outlet, nearby roads to establish the identity of the suspects.
