The Khammam police apprehended a northern Indian gang involved in stealing money from ATMs, resulting in the seizure of 34 ATM cards and Rs 15,000 in cash.
According to a statement by Inspector of Police Swamy from the one-town area, the gang, consisting of three members hailing from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, was apprehended jointly by the one-town and CCS police on Wednesday.
The accused individuals, identified as Waris from Haryana, Nishad Radheshyam, and Nishad Sanjay from Uttar Pradesh, were captured by the police based on a tip-off that they were engaged in a cash withdrawal operation at an ATM located on the railway station road. It was later revealed that the gang had previously committed ATM thefts in the city, the CI explained.
The gang’s modus operandi involved opening bank accounts under the names of individuals from various locations, including Piproli village in Haryana, Butpurthanda Jalala, Kurara Thana, Bhamili post, and Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, and depositing sums ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 into each account.
Subsequently, the gang members would obtain the ATM cards belonging to these account holders to carry out their thefts. Their technique entailed blocking the cash from being dispensed by the ATM with their hands until only a minimal amount was visible. They would then retrieve the money after hearing two beeps.
This method allowed them to secure the cash from the machine while causing the ATM to produce a transaction failure receipt for the concerned customer. The gang would then contact the bank’s customer care, reporting the issue, and the cash would be credited back to their accounts within 15 days, clarified the CI.
