Inter-state gang of ATM fraudsters busted, three held

PRAYAGRAJ: With the arrest of three people, trans-Ganga police claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of ATM fraudsters, who used to take out cash from ATM vaults using a metal clip. A metal clip, cash, 13 ATM cards and an SUV were recovered from their possession, police said.

The gang used the trick to take out cash worth several crores from ATMs not only in Uttar Pradesh, but also in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala and Mumbai, police said.

Superintendent of police (SP), trans-Ganga, Dhawal Jaiswal said that acting on a tip off the police team arrested the three fraudsters, identified as Sawan Singh, Taufiq Ahmad of Pratapgarh and Adil Ahmad of Civil Lines, from Soraon area on Thursday night.

He said that their fourth accomplice Shakir Ali of Pratapgarh was on the run. “A cash of Rs 23,500, 13 ATM cards and an SUV were recovered from them,” the SP said.

Few days back, the arrested accused had fraudulently taken out cash from an ATM booth in Kanpur. The accused Sawan Singh aka Bajrang Bahadur has a special metal clip which he has bought through someone in Mumbai.

“The gang members used to target ATM machines which were operated through keypad. They used to fix the metal clip in the cash tray in a way that stops functioning of sensors of the ATM machine due to which cash was withdrawn but transaction was not recorded, resulting in loss to the banks. The gang members never used to target the same ATM machine once used to avoid being traced. They used to travel across many states in their SUV for committing the fraud,” the SP said.