JAMMU, Dec 9: A cop was arrested by police in Domana area here for allegedly duping the innocent citizens through fraudulent ATM transactions.
The arrest resulted in seizure of over Rs 2 lakh and 5 ATM cards from the possession of the accused cop.
A police official said that case first came to light when one Prem Nath Raina son of Jagan Nath Raina of Barnai reported to Police Post Chinnore that an unknown person dishonestly used his ATM card to withdraw a significant amount from his bank account.
He said acting swiftly, a case FIR number 203/2024 under section 318(4) of the BNS Act, was registered at Police Station Domana.
Subsequently, several more complaints were lodged by other victims, resulting in registration of additional FIRs under the same section, he said.
Thereafter, the police official said that an investigation team analysed CCTV footage from ATMs and petrol pumps, conducted technical scrutiny and gathered intelligence.
These efforts led to the identification and arrest of the main suspect, Pardeep Singh Thakur of Shankli, Tehsil Dessa, District Doda at present 82/8 Resham Ghar Colony, Bakshi Nagar, he said.
Shockingly, the accused, a serving police official, was found to be the mastermind behind the scam, said the police official.
According to him, his modus-operandi involved targeting elderly citizens or individual unfamiliar with ATM operations.
Posing as a helpful bystander, he said, the accused would gain access to their PINs, swap their ATM cards with similar looking ones and later use the stolen cards to withdraw money.
On reaching the ATM withdrawal limit, the accused would exploit the stolen cards further by using them at petrol pumps to extract money.
The police official further said that the investigation also revealed the involvement of two petrol pump employees who assisted the accused by swapping the stolen cards in exchange for a share of the fraudulent proceeds.
All three suspects have been arrested and further investigation is on as additional recoveries and arrests are expected in the case, said the police official.
With these arrests, five FIRs registered at Police Station Domana have been solved, added the police official.
The arrests and seizure were made by a team of Police Post Chinnore led by Incharge Police Post Chinnore, SHO Domana, and SDPO Domana under the supervision of SP Rural Jammu, Brijesh Sharma.Meanwhile, in a statement, police have warned public to ensure privacy while withdrawing money from ATMs.
They have also requested for not allowing anyone inside the ATM cabin while withdrawing the money, not sharing ATM pin with anyone, avoid writing ATM PINs on the card, and avoid handing over the ATM cards to the strangers for assistance.
