Ambazari Police Arrest Trio in ₹90,000 ATM Fraud Case
Nagpur, India: On August 16, 2024, a 72-year-old retired plant engineer, Pandurang Narayan Kurve, went to an SBI ATM at Ravi Nagar Square in Nagpur to withdraw money using his HDFC Bank ATM card. While there, an unknown man approached him, saying that his receipt was stuck and asked Kurve to swipe his card again to remove it. The man then managed to see Kurve's PIN and secretly swapped Kurve's ATM card with another one.
A short time later, Kurve noticed that a total of ₹90,000 had been withdrawn from his account through five different transactions. Realizing he had been defrauded, Kurve reported the incident to the Ambazari Police Station. The police registered a case against an unknown person under Section 318(4) of the Indian Penal Code.
Ambazari Police quickly began their investigation, examining the crime scene and reviewing CCTV footage. Through technical investigation, they traced the suspects to Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. A police team from Ambazari traveled to Prayagraj and arrested three individuals:
- Syed Khan Kamaluddin Khan, 34, from Wadala, Mumbai.
- Alok Kumar Balkrishna Gautam, 32, from Lalganj, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
- Mohammad Kaleem, 21, from Govandi West, Mumbai.
The suspects confessed to committing the fraud for financial gain. Within 72 hours, the police arrested them and seized several items, including a Maruti Swift Dzire car, a Hyundai Verna car, three mobile phones, 117 various ATM cards, and ₹4,000 in cash. The total value of the seized items is approximately ₹20,38,000.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sitabuldi Division). The team included officers Vinayak Golhe, Mangesh Dange, Navnath Esai, Abhay Pudke, Rajesh Sonawane, Munindra Yuvnate, Dinesh Jumnake, Amit Bhure, Ankush Ghate, Pravin Shinde, Ujwal Patekar, Satish Karamore, Ashish Jadhav, Romit Raut, and Vikram Singh Thakur from the Cyber Cell. Further investigation is ongoing.
