Chennai Police arrested three men from Uttar Pradesh for robbing money from ATMs in the city using a duplicate key and black stickers on Monday.
The gang was busted thanks to the quick action and vigilance of an ATM service technician. Naren Kumar, 34, working with Hitachi ATM Service Centre, received an alert from the company’s Mumbai office about suspicious activity at an SBI ATM in Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur.
Upon inspection, Kumar found a black sticker covering the money dispensing vent. He promptly filed a complaint at the J-6 Thiruvanmiyur police station.
Police formed two special teams to investigate. After reviewing CCTV footage, they identified and arrested three suspects — Kuldeep Singh, Brijbhan, and Sumit Yadav — all from Uttar Pradesh.
The gang’s modus operandi involved using a duplicate key to open the ATM and placing a black sticker over the cash vent. When customers failed to receive their money, they assumed the machine was faulty and left. The criminals would then return to open the ATM with the key and steal the trapped cash.
The gang operated mostly on weekends, using taxi booking apps to move between targets before returning to Uttar Pradesh with the stolen money.
Police have seized the duplicate key, black stickers, and double-sided tape used in the scam. Further investigations are ongoing.
