New Delhi/ Nagpur: The driver of cash delivery van, Pradeep Shukla, who drove away with Rs 22.5 crore in Govindpuri on Thursday evening was arrested on Friday morning. Barring around Rs 11,000, the stolen amount has been recovered.
The driver alone executed the larceny which was possibly the biggest in Delhi’s history, said a senior police officer. Pradeep Shukla was found in a warehouse in South-East Delhi’s Okhla.
According to the probe so far, Shukla drove away with the cash-laden van to a warehouse in Okhla where he unloaded the cash boxes. He then drove the van near Govindpuri metro station and abandoned it there. The van was recovered sometime later based on its GPS location.
Shukla then went on to use around Rs 11,000 on new clothes and some other things before sleeping in the same warehouse. Police investigations tracked him down to the warehouse on Friday morning. As of now it appears to be an impromptu heist, but more details would emerge as he is interrogated further in the day.
The accused was driving the cash van from Vikaspuri in West Delhi to Okhla late Thursday afternoon. On the way, a gunman – the only other person in the vehicle – got off to relieve himself. Sensing an opportunity, Shukla drove away with the cash on the pretext of taking a U-turn.
Having waited for several minutes, the gunman then informed the security company which further called police. The empty vehicle was recovered soon after that.
