The Gurugram police have successfully busted a gang of fraudsters involved in stealing money from ATM users by installing a chip into the power plug of the machines. Five suspects, including two women, were arrested in connection with the crime. The police also recovered an MG Hector car and cash worth Rs 23,200 from the group’s possession.
The arrested individuals were identified as Ahsan and Raiees, residents of Pinangwan in Nuh district; Ashfaq from Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh; and Nandini and Mahak, residents of Shahdara in Delhi.
The case came to light on June 3 when a manager at the Axis Bank branch in Sector 10-A, Gurugram, filed a complaint about money being stolen from an ATM on the night of June 2. An FIR was registered, and following a thorough investigation, the five suspects were arrested. Ahsan, Nandini, and Mahak were detained on June 3 from Sector 10-A, while Raiees and Ashfaq were arrested from Pinangwan in Nuh on Wednesday.
During interrogation, the suspects revealed their modus operandi. They used a chip inserted in the power plug of the ATM to remotely control the machine, turning it on and off. When a user attempted to withdraw money, the suspects would cut off the machine’s power just before the cash was dispensed. The women would then assure the user that the money would be credited back to their account within 24 hours. Once the user left, the suspects would withdraw the cash from the ATM’s tray.
The gang confessed to committing similar thefts at an ATM in Delhi, one in Faridabad, and another in Gurugram. The police are continuing their investigation to uncover any further activities of the group.
Image Prompt: A police officer displaying the recovered cash and a close-up of the ATM machine’s power plug showing the chip inserted by the fraudsters.
