3 arrested for duping ATM users in Noida

Three persons, who duped unsuspecting people at ATMs, were arrested after an encounter with the police in Greater Noida, officials said today.

Wasim, Nadim, Hamid, aged between 20 and 25 years, hailed from Palwal district in Haryana and were "history sheeters", police said, adding that a car, 37 ATM/debit cards, Rs 64,000 in cash and illegal firearms were recovered from them.

According to police, a routine check was being carried out by personnel from the Ecotech 3 police station near Kulesra village yesterday when the trio arrived there and opened fire.

"The policemen rushed towards them and overpowered them, Station House Officer of the police station Rajpal Singh Tomar said.

The trio would target gullible ATM users and when someone would face a problem while withdrawing money, one of the accused would offer help and discreetly get access to the victim's pin code and account balance, Tomar said.

In the meantime, the other accused would pressurise the victim to not waste the time of people waiting in the queue forcing the person to leave the ATM without ending the transaction properly. The trio would then use the pin code to illegally withdraw money, he added.

Two pistols, bullets and a knife was seized from them, the police said, adding that the three were sent to judicial custody after being booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, Tomar said.

The three already have cases registered against them under the Information Technology Act, which deals with cybercrimes and e-commerce, he added.