Lower than per week after Navghar Police arrested a 40-year-old con artist for fooling prospects who approached ATM kiosks to withdraw cash from their financial institution accounts, their counterparts within the prison department ( unit III) connected to Mira Bhayandar- Police commissioner of Vasai Virar (MBVV) arrested a gang for its involvement in a collection of crimes utilizing the identical modus operandi.

5 individuals, together with a brief tv actor recognized as Ajay Shukla (33) who labored in standard cleaning soap operas and crime thrillers, have been arrested.

Alarmed by circumstances wherein ATM customers have been deceived by crooks, Dr Mahesh Patil of DCP (Crime) has stepped up his vigilance and dispatched particular squads to catch the culprits.

Whereas scanning photographs captured by closed-circuit tv (CCTV) put in close to ATMs and attainable escape routes from varied crime scenes, a crew led by Police Inspector Pramod Badhaak pre-selected Suspicious bikes and rickshaws noticed within the close to crime scenes.

Armed with their registration numbers, the crew additionally tracked digital fingerprints and finally centered on Shukla and his accomplices recognized as Dharmendrakumar Sabajait Dubey (40), Bablu Jokhan Saroj (35), Jitendrakumar Laljeet (24) and Brijesh Indrajeet Chauhan (22).

Explaining the modus operandi, police stated, the accused approached ATM customers underneath the guise of providing assist and continued to watch the PIN code because the sufferer entered the system after punching the cellphone. menu. When the machine didn’t reply, the con artist hurriedly left the sales space, however not earlier than changing the cardboard with an analogous one. The unique card and PIN code memorized and it was used to make fraudulent withdrawals.

Along with cell telephones, 60 financial institution playing cards from varied banks have been recovered from the possession of the accused, indicating the gang’s involvement in additional related crimes. The autos, together with the automated rickshaw and a bicycle used within the crime, have been additionally seized by the police crew.

The gang confessed to their involvement in related frauds dedicated by them in Valiv, Virar, Thane, Bhiwandi and even in Vapi (Gujarat). A case underneath Article 420 of the IPC has been registered towards all of the defendants who have been taken into custody after being offered to the district court docket, police stated. New investigations have been underway.