Man wanted in 15 cases of uprooting, looting ATMs arrested in Delhi

A 27-year-old man, who was wanted in 15 cases of uprooting and looting ATMs in different states and is a suspected member of a Mewat-based gang, has been arrested from south Delhi, police said on Sunday.

The accused has been identified as Wakil, a resident of Palwal district in Haryana, they said.

Wakil, who was absconding for the last one-and-a-half years, was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 -- Rs 25,000 from UP Police and Rs 25,000 from MP Police -- on his arrest, a senior police officer said.

"On Friday, police got a tip-off regarding Wakil and arrested him from near Lado Sarai bus stop," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said.

Interrogation revealed that Wakil, a member of Jamshed gang of Mewat, was involved in uprooting and looting of ATMs, the DCP said.

They targeted ATMs located at isolated spots where guards were not posted. They used to spray ink/colour on the lens of the cameras installed on the ATMs to avoid detection, Kushwah said.

The accused was involved in more than 15 such cases in seven states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Gujarat, police added.