Hyderabad: Three members of an attention diversion gang targeting senior citizens on the pretext of helping with cash withdrawals at ATM centres was apprehended by the Hyderabad police.
The gang is allegedly involved in 18 cases. Police recovered Rs. 7.60 lakh in cash and seized 105 ATM cards, a car, a motorcycle, a fake ID card of police as well as three mobile phones from them.
The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force (south) team caught Vakil Ali, 45, from Haryana; Farman, 23, from Uttar Pradesh and Obaid Arif, 30, from Hyderabad. Two other associates Islami and Gullu are absconding.
Foreigner held on charges of cheating people in Hyderabad
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (south) Sneha Mehra said the three people along with their associates carried duplicate ATM cards and visited ATM centres located in busy areas of Hyderabad.
“On the pretext of helping senior citizens with cash withdrawals, the gang exchanged the original ATM cards with duplicate ones. After securing the original card, they withdrew cash from ATMs or Point of Sale (PoS) machines and used the money to maintain a lavish lifestyle,” the police officer said.
The gang is involved in 18 cases in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. Efforts are on to nab two of the gang members who are absconding.
