Hyderabad,   In a daring money heist, the driver of a cash management company fled with the vehicle containing Rs 31 lakh in Hyderabad.

The incident occurred on Thursday evening in Rajendranagar when the company staff came to Canara Bank ATM to refill the cash dispensing machine.

Police said when the four employees got down from the vehicle and went into the ATM to make arrangements for refilling, the driver fled with the vehicle.

Gunman Chandraiah, one of the four employees, came out of the ATM after some time to take the cash. He found the vehicle missing. He searched for it in the surrounding area but found no trace of either the vehicle or the driver. He then alerted the others present inside the ATM.

They informed the company, which lodged a complaint with the Rajendranagar police station. The police launched a search and found the vehicle abandoned near Kismatpur bridge. Driver Farooq (25) was missing with Rs 3 lakh. The police seized the remaining Rs 28 lakh.

A search was on for the driver, a resident of the Borabanda area in the city.

This is the second such incident in Hyderabad this year. In February, a driver of a cash management company had fled with the vehicle containing Rs 36 lakh in Dundigal on the city outskirts.