A courier SUV carrying Rs 3.06 crore in cash was intercepted on the Mumbai-Agra highway near Palasner village in Maharashtra’s Dhule district, with five to six men allegedly assaulting and abducting two employees before escaping with the money.
The robbery took place between 12.30am and 12.45am on Saturday, shortly after the vehicle entered Maharashtra from Madhya Pradesh. According to the complaint filed with Shirpur Taluka police, the employees were travelling from Bhopal to Mumbai with cash collections when a multipurpose vehicle blocked their route near Palasner.
The SUV driver told police that the attackers emerged from the MPV, smashed the driver’s-side window with iron pipes and rods, dragged him out and assaulted him. The men allegedly blindfolded the driver and his colleague before forcing both into their vehicle.
Police said the assailants drove away with the two employees and stopped briefly at an unidentified location. The employees were later pushed out of the vehicle. The attackers handed over the keys to the courier SUV, but the vehicle was not at the location where the men were left, according to police statements cited in the complaint.
The two employees walked to a nearby village and used a villager’s cellphone to contact officials of the firm. They then began searching for the SUV and eventually located it. A bag containing Rs 3.06 crore was missing from the vehicle, police said.
The Shirpur Taluka police have registered an FIR under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for robbery, assault and wrongful confinement. Inspector Jaypal Hire said three teams had been formed to identify the accused and trace them.
Police said the cash was being moved to the company’s Mumbai office because of Diwali holiday arrangements. Employees at the firm’s Bhopal branch had been instructed to transfer cash collections to Mumbai, leading the two employees to leave Bhopal at about 6pm on Friday.
The vehicle entered Maharashtra around 12.15am before being intercepted near Palasner. The location lies on the Mumbai-Agra highway, a major road corridor connecting Maharashtra with Madhya Pradesh and northern India. The account has also drawn attention to the security risks faced by vehicles transporting large cash collections on inter-state routes.
Investigators suspect that the accused may have fled towards neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. Police teams are continuing efforts to establish the identity of the robbers and trace the stolen cash. The investigation remains under way.
