Mumbai: Duo loot ATM with pull the plug style

Mumbai: The Vile Parle police have booked two persons for allegedly carrying out six transactions using different debit cards at an ATM machine by using a unique modus operandi wherein the fraudster would create a power interruption error in the machine and dispense the cash. The duo had withdrawn Rs60,000 using different ATM cards, the police said.

The Worli police had earlier this month registered a case against an unknown person for allegedly carrying out 37 transactions using 14 debit cards at two ATM machines by using the same modus operandi. In October, two persons Arif Khan, 26, and Rashid Khan, 22, were arrested by the Malad police in a similar fraud.

The complainant in this case is an operation manager of the private bank having its branch in Vile Parle East, with an ATM kiosk nearby. No night security guard is posted there. On Oct 13, an official from the bank's vigilance team had informed through an email about suspicious transactions at the ATM on Oct 5 between 8.43 pm and 10.53 pm, and sought an inquiry. On that day, there had been instances of withdrawal and reversal of transactions which raised eyebrows.

The bank then scanned the CCTV footage and found that two unknown persons had visited the ATM. While one person was seen in the footage making withdrawals using debit cards of different banks, the other could be seen pulling the power plug of the machine. A police complaint was filed in this regard on Tuesday and a case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Information Technology Act.