ATM fraudster nabbed after gunfight in Greater Noida

The accused used glue to trap cards in ATMs, tricked victims into sharing PINs, and later withdrew cash, police said

A 22-year-old man who allegedly duped people in ATMs was arrested following an encounter with police near the Yamaha intersection on Friday, police said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Sunny alias Nitesh Babu of Auraiya, fired at police while trying to escape on a motorcycle and was injured in retaliatory fire.

The accused was involved in multiple ATM frauds and was wanted in previous cases, police said. (Representational image)

Police said Sunny, along with two jailed accomplices identified as Sumit and Sanjay (one names), used glue to trap cards in ATMs, tricked victims into sharing PINs, and later withdrew cash.

Sunny would apply adhesive such as Fevicol or Fevikwik in the card slot of the ATM, causing customers’ cards to get stuck. His associates would appear pretending to help and hand over a “helpline number,” which in reality belonged to Sunny himself, police revealed.

“Once the victim dialled, Sunny would pose as a bank official, ask for the PIN, and advise the person to visit their branch. By then, Sumit and Sanjay would extract the trapped card using pliers and withdraw cash from other ATMs,” said Shakti Mohan Awasthi, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central Noida, adding that the trio had executed several such frauds. While Sumit and Sanjay were arrested earlier and sent to jail, Sunny was absconding until Friday’s encounter.

The encounter occurred when a police team was conducting routine checking. A motorcycle-borne man was signaled to stop but instead attempted to flee through a dirt road. In the process, his motorcycle skidded. Finding himself surrounded, the accused opened fire on the police team, police said. In retaliatory firing, he sustained a gunshot injury, the police said.

Sunny was taken into custody and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Police recovered a country-made pistol with one live cartridge and an empty shell, three ATM cards of different banks, and a motorcycle bearing registration number UP16DH9475 from his possession, police said.

Sunny is named in several cases previously registered at Ecotech 3 police station. “The accused was involved in multiple ATM frauds and was wanted in previous cases. His arrest will help us uncover further details of the network. The accused has been sent to judicial custody and further legal action is underway,” added DCP.