Mumbai: Three persons have been arrested for stealing inverter batteries and internet routers of city’s ATMs in Agripada, police said on Saturday.
The accused would target ATMs, which lacked security. The gang was busted when 12 batteries and two internet routers were stolen from ATMs of PNB and SBI opposite Arthur Road Jail. According to police, the trio—Salahuddin Juman Khan (50), Jamil Ahmed Bachu Shaikh (44) and Krishna Patil (49)—was arrested on Thursday.
Each accused had a different job but were connected to the maintenance of ATMs. While Shaikh who worked for a private ATM maintenance contractor knew the connection points of the batteries, Patil did cleaning and domestic work at ATMs, gaining him knowledge of which ATMs had guards. On the other hand, Khan was the owner of the tempo and is also a scrap dealer, who helped them sell batteries and fetch them good value.
Police said after the battery and routers were stolen, the system would experience an error and eventually shut down. On Wednesday, the respective bankers noticed the mechanical systems were meddled with something and filed a police complaint. After scrutinising the area’s CCTV footages, police arrested the trio, who revealed that to date, total 53 back-up batteries were stolen from ATMs across the city.
“The CCTV revealed that the stolen inverts were loaded in a tempo outside the banks. No one would realise anything fishy unless the power was cut off and the bank authorities get a message about technical glitch because of the system failure,” said an officer close to the investigation.
He added: “They were nabbed within 24 hours. Their arrest led to the recovery of total 53 batteries. The tempo was also confiscated. The total seizure is worth `6.80 lakh. 12 batteries were stolen from Agripada. Others from Crawford Market, Nehru Nagar in Kurla, Mulund Checknaka, Kalher in Bhiwandi and Panvel.”