2 men arrested in southwest Delhi for ATM fraud, illegal firearms possession

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) Two men allegedly involved in ATM fraud and found in possession of illegal firearms have been arrested in southwest Delhi, police said on Saturday.

Police said the accused, both identified as Salman, used a method known as ATM jamming to commit fraud. They said they inserted small metallic clips into the cash-dispensing shutter of ATM machines, preventing cash from being dispensed even though the amount was debited from the customer's bank account.

"Believing it to be a technical glitch and expecting a refund from the bank, customers would leave the ATM kiosk. The accused would later remove the jamming device and take away the cash trapped inside," a senior police officer said.

To safeguard themselves during such activities, the accused carried illegal firearms, police added.

A country-made pistol, two live cartridges, Rs 12,700 in cash, four ATM jamming devices and a screwdriver used to break open ATM shutters were recovered from their possession.

On January 1, police noticed a suspicious man roaming in the Kishangarh area during routine patrolling. When the man tried to flee on spotting the police personnel, he was apprehended. During a personal search, a country-made pistol was recovered from his possession.

A case was registered at Kishangarh police station under relevant sections of the Arms Act, and the accused, Salman, son of Kabir, was formally arrested, police said.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed his involvement in ATM fraud cases and revealed the identity of his associate, Salman, son of Usman, who allegedly supplied him with the illegal firearm.

Acting on this information, the police team apprehended the co-accused, from whose possession two live cartridges were recovered.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain their involvement in other similar cases and to trace the source of the illegal weapons and ATM jamming devices, police said. PTI SSJ AMJ AMJ