Three held after brief encounter in south Delhi

Three men, who used to dupe people after swapping their ATM cards, were arrested after a brief encounter with police in south Delhi's Munirka area, police said Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Abid and Sakib, residents of Haryana's Palwal district, and Adil, a resident of Ballabhgarh in Haryana, they said.

Total 95 ATM cards, Rs 20,000 cash, one pistol, two live cartridge and a car were recovered from them, a senior police officer said.

"Police got information on Monday that the accused would come near Munirka Metro Station. When they came there, they were signalled to stop but instead of stopping, they tried to flee after firing at police," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rahesh Deo said.

They were chased and later arrested on Nelson Mandela Marg near Coolie Camp signal, he said.

Interrogation revealed that they used to operate across India and targeted elderly people, the officer said.

They managed to see the PIN code of the user and after swapping the ATM cards, they withdrew money, the police said.

The accused used to carry arms to threaten people in case of being caught on the spot, they added.