Bhubaneswar: Three persons from Haryana allegedly looted at least 30 ATMs in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack by installing a special device in the money kiosks, but soon ran out of luck after locals suspecting foul play nabbed two of them inside a counter near Badheibanka Chhak under Lingaraj police limits on August 25.
A day later, a special squad of Commissionerate Police nabbed the prime accused, who had managed to flee, from Angul.
Police sources identified the trio as Md Salman (18), the main accused, Kafhaiyat (35) and Raj Kumar Tanwar (31).
A total of 15 ATM cards, five steel plates, a car, Rs 90,000 and three mobile phones have been seized from their possession.
The three arrested persons were taken to an ATM kiosk on Monday to recreate the crime scene to understand their modus operandi.
MODUS OPERANDI
The trio withdrew money from ATMs without the amount getting deducted from the bank accounts They used to target ATMs having touchscreen facilities and withdraw money by inserting a specially-designed steel plate inside the cash dispenser windows.
When they try to withdraw money by using debit cards of their associates, the cash dispensed gets placed on the steel plate and the machine treats the transaction as unsuccessful and refunds the amount to the accounts, police sources said.
The accused would then take out the plate with the cash on it from the machines.
One of the accused, Salman, told the media that they had looted Rs 59,500 from ATMs in Cuttack and Rs 70,000 from Bhubaneswar in three months.
A case has been registered under Sections 454, 380, 34 of the IPC and Section 65 of the IT Act. The three have been forwarded to court, the sources added.
