Mohit Kumar, 36, of Vijayinder Nagar, arrested for stealing money from bank accounts after swapping debit cards of unwary people, learnt the unscrupulous tactic from none other than his father, Ashok Kumar, alias Pataka.
“Ashok was arrested by the CIA Staff-2 in 2019, also for ATM frauds, and 56 debit cards were recovered from his possession. He was later bailed out from jail, and taught the con job to his son,” said Surinder Mohan, assistant commissioner of police (ACP, Detective 2).
“His son, Mohit, a drug addict, is already facing trial in a snatching case. After being released on bail, he started swapping ATM cards like his father,” the ACP said.
The CIA staff-2 had nabbed Mohit, along with his accomplice, Sandeep Kumar, alias Kala, of Gurpal Nagar, Daba, from Jamalpur Chowk on Tuesday and recovered Rs 9,000 in cash and nine debit cards from them.
MODUS OPERANDI
The police official said Mohit and Sandeep used to recce the city to find ATM kiosks without security guards. They would then lurk around for customers and target the elderly or labourers. On the pretext of helping them withdraw cash from the ATM, the duo would swap their debit cards with a fake one, and later steal cash from their bank accounts using the valid card.
To avoid being caught, they would keep changing their area of operation after swindling a few customers.
{{/usCountry}}To avoid being caught, they would keep changing their area of operation after swindling a few customers.
{{/usCountry}}Sandeep had dropped out from school after Class 8, while Mohit had cleared Class 12, and both were now unemployed, the ACP added.