5 held in ATM chip scam case
Sanjay Yadav
Gurugram, June 5
The Gurugram police have busted a gang of fraudsters and arrested five persons, including two women, who were involved in stealing money by inserting a chip into the power plug of an ATM machine and deceiving ATM users. An MG Hector car used in the crime and cash worth Rs 23,200 were recovered from their possession.
According to the police, the arrested have been identified as Ahsan and Raiees, residents of Pinangwan in Nuh district; Ashfaq of Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh; and Nandini and Mahak, residents of Shahdara in Delhi.
On June 3, a manager of Axis Bank, Sector 10-A branch, filed a complaint that some people had stolen money from an ATM on the night of June 2. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered. During the investigation, the police arrested the five suspects. Ahsan, Nandini and Mahak were arrested on June 3 from Sector 10-A, while Raiees and Ashfaq were arrested from Pinangwan in Nuh on Wednesday.
During police interrogation, it was revealed that the suspects used to install a chipset in the power plug of the ATM machine, enabling them to switch the machine on and off remotely. Whenever a person attempted to withdraw cash from the ATM, the suspects would switch off the machine just as the money was about to be dispensed. The accused women would then explain to the person that the money would be returned to their account within 24 hours. Once the person left, the suspects would withdraw the money from the ATM’s cash tray.
The suspects have admitted to committing two thefts from an ATM in Delhi, one in Faridabad and one in Gurugram. “We are questioning the accused,” said Varun Dahiya, ACP Crime.
Dahiya added that the women accused claimed the main suspects had lured them with money by contacting them through social media. They would gain people’s trust and involve them in illegal activities.
A senior police officer revealed that Ahsan faces four theft cases in Delhi and one case in Gurugram. Raiees faces two theft cases in Delhi and one case in Gurugram.
