Alert guard pulls down shutter to catch two ATM burglars
Times of India | 22 February 2024
Kolkata: Two persons from Bihar, part of an inter-state gang that was allegedly tampering with ATM machines in the city to fraudulently withdraw money from other people’s accounts, were nabbed. The accused landed in cop net after the alert staff of Bank of Maharashtra’s vigilance unit, who were monitoring the CCTV footage of the ATM, spotted them entering an unguarded kiosk at Silpara on DH Road in Behala around 9pm on Tuesday.The staff noticed that the accused didn’t step out of the kiosk even after a long time.
The staff informed the bank’s Silpara branch, whose security guard pulled down the kiosk’s shutter to trap the accused,identified as Dhanraj (22) and Chandan Kumar (33), residents of Gaya district. A third accused, who was standing guard outside the kiosk, managed to flee. Later, cops from Thakurpukur police station detained the duo. The accused confessed that they were using adhesive to paste a scale beneath the cash dispenser , cops said. “The scale blocked the cash tray. Hence, a customer would simply walk away thinking no cash has been dispensed, even after a successful transaction. Later,the accused would remove the scale to collect the cash,” cops said, adding this ‘exit shutter manipulation fraud’ had been in operation since 2022.