The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Harsha V, a resident of Kengeri and the owner of a brokerage firm, Aerivon Oxygen Pvt Ltd, based in Kengeri Satellite Town. According to his statement to the police, Harsha had taken a loan of Rs 2 crore to start a cold-pressed oil business and intended to purchase machinery from Germany. He decided to convert the cash into cryptocurrency and had shared his plans with his friends, Prakash Agrawal and Rakshit.
Prakash and Rakshit then introduced Harsha to a man named Narayana Bharath, who further connected him to an individual named Benjamin. Harsha contacted Benjamin over the phone and requested his help in converting Rs 2 crore into cryptocurrency. Benjamin asked him to bring the cash to MS Palya Circle. Following the instructions, Harsha, along with his friends Nagendra and Shanta Kumar, arrived at the location with the Rs 2 crore around 3 PM.
Benjamin took them to a shop called AK Enterprises, where he and two others known to him received the cash and counted it using a money counting machine. Around 4:30 PM, a group of six to seven men stormed into the shop, brandished knives, and demanded the money. When Harsha resisted, he was attacked. The gang snatched the Rs 2 crore and his mobile phone, locked everyone inside the shop, and fled the scene.
Later, Harsha, along with Benjamin and his friends, managed to open the shutter and step outside. To his shock, Benjamin and his associates also fled immediately. Harsha now suspects their involvement in the dacoity. A case has been registered at the Vidyaranyapura police station under Section 310 (dacoity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
