PUNE: A woman lost Rs20,000 after her purse, which had her debit card with the PIN written on its cover, was stolen and the
thief used the card to withdraw the money.
The theft happened on July 21 when the 27-year-old teacher from
Nanded Phata was travelling to Swargate in a share autorickshaw. The teacher came to the Swargate police station on Sunday and lodged a complaint.
When contacted, the woman told TOI that on the afternoon of July 21, she was travelling in a share autorickshaw from her house to Swargate. “When I got down near Sarasabaug, I found that someone had stolen my purse. There was Rs1,300 and my debit card in the purse. However, I did not approach the police to lodge a complaint,” she said.
The teacher said that half-an-hour after her purse was stolen, she received a message from her
bank stating that Rs20,000 had been withdrawn from her bank account. “Then I realized that I had written the PIN on the cover of my debit card and the thief had used it to withdraw the money,” she said.
The woman then blocked her debit card before the thief could withdraw any more money from her bank account. “After talking to my family, I came to the Swargate police on Sunday and lodged a complaint,” she said.
An officer from the Swargate police said the woman should have immediately come to the police station to lodge a complaint. “She does not know whether her purse was stolen while travelling or after she reached near Sarasbaug,” the officer said adding, “Despite that we have registered the offence and begun the probe.”
On the same day — July 21, a 36-year-old woman from Dhayari had lost Rs18,000. She too had written the PIN on the cover of her debit card. Her purse was stolen while she was travelling in a Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limted bus.
Representative image 
