Driver arrested, ` 39 lakh recovered

LUCKNOW: After five days of effort, the city police on Saturday arrested a security agency driver Jai Prakash Singh, 38, who had fled with ` 40 lakh meant for Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Aliganj on Monday. The police have recovered ` 39 lakh from his possession and are carrying out raids to arrest his brother-in-law Dharamraj Singh to whom he had given the remaining amount to help him evade arrest.

The cops also recommended license cancellation of the security agency for their faulty working that allowed the driver to flee with the cash. Additional director general (ADG), law and order, Mukul Goel is also writing to the security agencies to strengthen their cash transfer process. He said the police would now conduct surprise checks at these security agencies to ensure they were following the safety norms meant for the security agencies and cash transfer process.

SSP Praveen Kumar said, “The driver immediately went to his native village Sadna in Sitapur but did not enter his house after spotting the police team in the village. He hid in a tube well pit nearly 500 metres from his house and remained there for at least three days”. He said the driver approached his brother-in-law Dharamraj Singh after finding no way to get out.

The SSP said the driver gave ` 1 lakh to his brother-in-law Dharamraj to keep him updated about police movement. He said the accused had offered to pay more money to Dharamraj if he managed to dodge the police. He said the accused was arrested when he come out of the pit and returned to Lucknow. His brother-in-law, who helped him, had disappeared, so the police were carrying out searches to recover the remaining amount and arrest the second accused, he added.

Kumar said the driver confessed to his crime, saying he was in urgent need of money as his mother and wife were ill. He said the driver also owed a debt of ` 7 lakh that apparently prompted him to flee with the cash.

On Monday, the driver had fled with the cash when the other staff members -- two cashiers Abhishek Dubey and Ashish Mishra and a security guard Ashok Trivedi -- were busy filling an ATM with cash in Aliganj. He broke open the lock of the trunk and escaped with the cash, leaving the vehicle behind.