Muzaffarnagar Police Arrest Two Alleged ATM Fraud Gang Members After Encounter

Muzaffarnagar police have arrested two alleged members of an inter-district ATM fraud gang after a police encounter near Bamanheri Railway Station. One of the accused was injured after being shot in the leg, while his alleged associate was arrested during a combing operation, police said.

The Civil Lines police station of Muzaffarnagar district claimed to have exposed the ATM fraud gang and arrested the two accused. The injured accused has been identified as Faizan. The other accused has been identified as Prashant, alias Pucchi, alias Patwari.

According to the police, the action took place at night near Rajyog Farm House, close to Bamanheri Railway Station. During checking, the police team tried to stop two suspects riding a motorcycle. Police said the suspects opened fire at the team while attempting to flee.

The motorcycle later slipped, following which both suspects ran into a nearby forest. Police said the two continued firing from there as well. During the retaliatory action, Faizan suffered a bullet injury to his leg. Prashant, alias Pucchi, alias Patwari, was arrested during the combing operation.

The police said they recovered a 315-bore country-made pistol, one live cartridge and two spent cartridges from the accused. A Splendor motorcycle without a number plate was also recovered. The seized items also include 10 ATM cards belonging to different banks and 10 thousand rupees withdrawn from ATMs.

The case came to light after Purushottam Kumar, a resident of Indra Colony, submitted a complaint to the police on 4 October. He alleged that 19,500 rupees had been fraudulently withdrawn from his ATM card and that the card had also been stolen.

Following the complaint, the Civil Lines police began an investigation. During questioning, the accused allegedly told the police that they used glue to make a customer’s card get stuck inside an ATM. They would then offer help and secretly observe the customer’s PIN.

The accused allegedly misled customers by providing their own mobile number instead of the helpline number displayed on the ATM. After the customer left, they would remove the card and use it to withdraw money from another ATM.

According to the police, cases are registered against both accused in Muzaffarnagar as well as Noida, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Firozabad, Amroha and Moradabad. The police are also investigating the accused persons’ other criminal connections and the wider network.

The report was filed by Anmol Kumar from Muzaffarnagar. Contact number: 7078215007.