Mumbai Police on Tuesday said that it has busted a gang and arrested three accused who were allegedly defrauding ATM users by placing a bandage on ATM card slots to trap cards and later withdrawing money from victims’ accounts.

The accused, arrested by the Malad Police, have been identified as Mohammad Arif Yusuf Khan, Abdul Haqiq Khan, and Danish Ali Khan, all residents of Uttar Pradesh currently staying in a rented room in Mumbai

According to police, the gang operated in various areas including Andheri, Bandra, Kandivali, Borivali, Chembur, and Malad, where they carried out multiple ATM frauds.

The case came to light after a Malad resident lodged a complaint stating that his ATM card got stuck in a government bank’s ATM last week. While he was trying to retrieve it, one of the accused approached him under the pretext of helping. During the process, the accused noted the victim’s PIN and later replaced the original card with another. Soon after, Rs 40,000 was withdrawn from the victim’s account, following which he registered a complaint at the Malad police station.

A team led by Senior Inspector Dushyant Chavan and comprising API Deepak Raiwade, along with his detection team, launched an investigation. The police examined CCTV footage from the area and spotted a suspicious vehicle, which eventually led them to the accused.

Upon interrogation, the trio confessed to their involvement in multiple similar frauds. Police said Abdul and Danish are history-sheeters, while Mohammad works as a car driver, Abdul as a truck driver, and Danish as a labourer.

The court has remanded all three accused in police custody for further investigation. Their arrest is expected to help solve several pending ATM fraud cases, said an officer from Malad Police Station.

Source