Delhi University grad, student held for targeting ATM users in north campus

The two accused, in their early 20s, targeted ATM users in and around the Delhi University campus in north Delhi, police said.

They wanted their crime to be perfect, so they took every possible measure to ensure they could not be linked to their illegal activities. They even got a motorcycle financed on fake documents so it could not be traced. But a small mistake landed them in police’s net. They provided a correct mobile number when getting the bike financed.

The two accused, in their early 20s, targeted ATM users in and around the Delhi University campus in north Delhi, police said.

The two accused, in their early 20s, targeted ATM users in and around the Delhi University campus in north Delhi, police said. After having free run for over the past three months, they were arrested for allegedly duping more than a dozen people, police said on Saturday.

The accused were identified as Dharmender, a DU graduate, and Prince Kumar, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the same varsity, police said.

One of the alleged fraudsters got a motorcycle financed on fake address documents so police could not find them even if the two-wheeler was captured by CCTV cameras, said Jatin Narwal, DCP (north).

However, one of the suspects ended up giving his actual mobile number to the financer, police said. When police got the motorcycle’s registration number, they were easily able to find him through his mobile phone number, said the DCP.

Their arrests have led to the recovery of ₹89,000 that the duo allegedly cheated from their victims.

Their latest victim was Nandan Singh, a retired lab assistant from Hindu College.

Singh had visited an ATM booth installed in the Hindu College’s premises on December 1. He had withdrawn ₹10,000 using his card when the duo approached him and distracted him in conversation.

On the pretext of the ATM taking too long to dispense cash, they tricked him into handing over his card to them. They then switched it with a fake card that they returned. Singh did not realise the trick at that time even though his efforts to withdraw more money were futile, said the DCP.

It was last week that Singh realised he was tricked. “The cheats had used his card to withdraw ₹50,000. When Singh complained, we began our probe,” said the DCP. He added that police scanned the CCTV footage of the roads near the ATM, which helped them identify and arrest the accused.