Delhi man held for stealing money after tampering with ATM dispensers in Chandigarh
The accused was identified as Abhay Kumar Jha, 35, a resident of North Delhi. He was arrested from near Mela Ground in Sector 34, Chandigarh, on Friday
Chandigarh Police have arrested a key member of an ATM fraud gang accused of allegedly stealing money from ATMs by tampering with their dispensers.
The accused was identified as Abhay Kumar Jha, 35, a resident of North Delhi. He was arrested from near Mela Ground in Sector 34 on Friday and a cutter used for tampering ATM, a fibre stick used to obstruct cash dispensing, and a black and white tape used to affix the fibre piece to the cash dispenser were recovered from his possession.
The matter came to light following a complaint by Sunita Kaushik, branch head of Punjab National Bank, Sector 33. In her complaint, Kaushik reported a suspicious activity at PNB’s ATM in Sector-34 Furniture Market, which was conveyed through the central monitoring team on at 1 am on Friday.
Upon reviewing Thursday’s CCTV footage, the police discovered Jha tampering with the cash dispenser. During the investigation, Jha disclosed his previous employment history. He worked as an ATM cash loader for Brinks Company in Delhi from 2011 to 2014. Currently, he is employed at his father’s company, which manufactures cervical collars in Delhi.
On Saturday, Jha was produced before the local court. The police sought a four-day remand to further investigate the extent of the fraud and identify any additional accomplices involved. A case at Sector-34 police station was registered.
Modus Operandi
Police said the accused deliberately targeted ATMs without guards, particularly those in market areas where people withdraw larger amounts of cash.
Jha accessed the ATM lobby using a duplicate key and placed adhesive tape inside the ATM cabinet door, effectively blocking the cash dispensing mechanism. When customers attempted to withdraw cash, they received a debit message but no money was dispensed. Jha later returned to collect the blocked cash.
