Telangana, Hyderabad: The Commissioner’s Task Force, South Zone Team, Hyderabad, in collaboration with Bahadurpura Police, successfully dismantled an inter-state gang involved in defrauding people by creating duplicate ATM cards and using them to withdraw cash from various ATM centers across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka. The gang primarily targeted senior citizens, women, and individuals with limited literacy. Authorities have apprehended three accused individuals and solved 18 related cases.
The accused persons were identified as Vakil Ali, aged 45 years, resident of Haryana; Farman, aged 23 years, resident of Uttar Pradesh; Obaid Arif, aged 30 years, resident of Hyderabad; Islam, resident of Hyderabad, native of Haryana and is absconding); and Gullu, native of Uttar Pradesh and is absconding.
The police seized cash amounting to Rs. 7,60,000/-, 105 ATM cards from various banks, One car, One TVS Apache two-wheeler, One fake police ID card and three mobile phones from the accused persons.
The total cases detected are 18 and out of which 10 cases are from Telangana, 2 cases are from Andhra Pradesh, 4 cases are from Odisha, and 2 cases are from Karnataka.
The prime accused, Vakil Ali and Islam, are natives of Haryana and are relatives. Islam had migrated to Hyderabad and was engaged in the cloth business in the Charminar area. Eventually, they befriended the other accused, Gullu, Farman, and Obaid Arif, who were involved in various professions. Due to insufficient earnings to sustain their families and extravagant lifestyles, they conspired to earn money by deceiving unsuspecting individuals at ATM centers.
They formed a gang and began committing crimes in Telangana and other states by diverting the attention of ATM users.
Modus Operandi:
The accused obtained ATM cards through various means. They would approach illiterate individuals, senior citizens, and women at ATM centers under the pretext of assisting them in cash withdrawals. While pretending to help, one of the accused would discreetly observe the victim’s PIN and replace the original ATM card with a similar-looking one by diverting the victim’s attention. They would then flee the scene and withdraw money from nearby ATMs or Point of Sale (POS) machines within a short period.
Using this method, they committed 18 offenses across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka by deceiving unsuspecting victims unfamiliar with such fraudulent activities.
On 22.12.2024, the accused committed an offense within the jurisdiction of Bahadurpura Police Station and withdrew Rs. 2.03 lakh from a complainant. Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Crime No. 372/2024, U/s 318(4), 303(2), r/w 3(5) BNS of Bahadurpura Police Station, Hyderabad, and an investigation was initiated.
Acting on credible information, the Commissioner’s Task Force, South Zone Team, Hyderabad, along with Bahadurpura Police, apprehended the accused and seized the aforementioned items. The accused and the seized property were handed over to Bahadurpura Police for further investigation.
The arrests were made under the supervision of Ande Srinivasa Rao, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Task Force, Hyderabad, with the assistance of S. Raghavendra, Inspector of Police, South Zone Task Force; R. Raghunath, Inspector of Police, Bahadurpura Police Station; P. Srikanth Reddy, DI Bahadurpura PS; and Sub-Inspectors G. Anjaneyulu, M. Mahesh, K. Narsimulu, N. Naveen, G. Ambedkar, along with other staff from Task Force South Zone and Bahadurpura Police.
Our Citizen Reporter – Telangana
Mr. Bharath Reddy
