Mysuru: Businessman was easily duped by miscreants who diverted his attention and made away with hard cash of Rs. 7 lakh, here yesterday. The incident occurred in broad daylight and unfortunate victim was Ganesh, a rice-mill owner and the son of Shivarudrappa, a resident of Hullahalli in Nanjangud taluk.

Incident: Ganesh went to Canara Bank in the town around 10.20 am to draw money. After drawing Rs. 7 lakh, he has gone to his car parked under a tree on Ashoka Road. First, he thought of putting the bag containing the cash in the dickey, but changed his mind and put the bag on the back seat of the car and started the engine.

Meanwhile, an unidentified man came and drew his attention saying, “Sir, there are a lot of notes lying next to your car. How could you be so careless and drop so much of cash?”

Ganesh has panicked on hearing this and immediately got out of the car. Waiting for the opportunity, another miscreant appears, opens the back door and escapes with the bag containing the cash.

Ganesh started shouting for help, “Somebody has stolen my bag and is escaping, please help me.” The other miscreant, who had drawn the attention of the victim, on the pretext of catching the culprit also escaped from the scene.

Ganesh has filed a complaint in the Nanjangud Town Police Station. Crime Branch Sub-Inspector Veerabhadrappa, who has registered the complaint, said that there are three or four persons who are involved in diverting the attention of the people and making away with cash. “We will intensify the investigation and arrest the miscreants at the earliest,” he assured.

ACP Mohammad Sujeetha visited the spot and said that a separate team will be formed to nab the culprits.

CCTV footage: A CCTV installed at a hardware shop, located near the place where Ganesh had parked his car, has captured the whole incident. The Police have recovered the footage.

The footage shows about five persons waiting while the incident occurred and the Police suspect that it could be the same gang of miscreants. They have expressed confidence of nabbing the culprits at the earliest.