A 23-year-old ex-employee of a cash management firm, tasked with collecting cash from metro stations across Delhi, was arrested for allegedly stealing a bag containing Rs 32 lakh in May, the police said today.
On May 22, the police were informed about the theft from the cash van of SIS from Jhandewalan Metro Station. The police scanned the CCTV footage and found a man picking the bag containing the money out of the many bags kept in the van and running away.
After the employees of the firm were questioned, the accused was identified as Kamal Kumar, an ex-employee who was sacked because of his habit "to go on long leaves without explanation", the police said.
While on the run, Kumar travelled to Agra and even made a trip to Nainital, police officials said.
Yesterday, Kumar was arrested from Select City Walk Mall in Saket on a tip-off. Police recovered Rs 11.20 lakh from his hideout in south Delhi, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Pankaj Kumar Singh.
During interrogation, he told police that he had a love marriage and was living with his wife in the posh south Delhi on a rent of Rs 30,000 per month, he said.
Kumar had lost his job and needed money. In the meantime, he had developed a habit of visiting discotheques and bars in south Delhi and had even made a girlfriend, he added.
In order to fund his lavish lifestyle and spend money on his girlfriend, he hatched a plan to steal the bag since he knew that the cash was insured and the firm's employees were a little careless in handling the cash, said another officer privy to the probe.
During the time he was on the run, he had even visited his girlfriend in Agra and handed over some of the stolen cash to her for safekeep, the police said.
He is currently in police custody and is being probed about where he has hidden the remaining amount of cash.
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