Police have arrested two culprits named Haneef Saiyyad and Osaf Hassan Mohammad in a unique case of ATM robbery that has been giving sleepless nights to police for long. The ATM robbers were arrested by the crime branch in Surat, Gujarat on December 13 while they were planning to target another ATM. Their gang has reportedly robbed around Rs 20 lakh from ATMs so far.
The whole gang is illiterate except the two arrested
The culprits reportedly belong to a gang named Mewati gang. Certain interesting facts have emerged about the gang and the ATM robberies carried out by them. The gang members are reportedly mostly illiterate. The gang used to target only the ATMs of the Canara bank manufactured by D-Bolt company.
The culprits arrested by the police have been identified as Haneef Saiyyad and Osaf Hassan Mohammad. They used to live in a rented warehouse belonging to one Haroon in Saroli. Haneef Saiyyad is said to have studied till 6th standard while Osaf Hassan Mohammad has studied till 3rd standard. The other culprits named Sajid Khan, Zaheer Khan and Irfan Khan are brothers and are currently absconding. Haneef Saiyyad and Osaf Hassan Mohammad are the most literate members of the gang. Rest of them, including the mastermind Sajid Khan, are reportedly completely illiterate.
Targeted only Canara Bank ATMs
According to the crime branch, the gang targeted only Canara Bank ATMs manufactured by D-Bolt. Apparently, the culprits had figured out a way to open the ATM installations partially. They carried out robberies during the day as well in the night. The culprits used to open the display board of the ATM using a duplicate key instead of opening the whole machine. Then they used to turn off the machine at the end of the transaction the moment cash would pop out. Then they would take the cash and call the customer care complaining that the amount had been deducted from their account but they did not receive the cash. They would even get the amount refunded.
The police have recovered 4 debit cards, 2 mobile phones and 1 lakh 10 thousand worth of cash from the culprits. The culprits have admitted to having robbed the Canara Bank ATMs at Ichhapur, Athwalines and Adajan. The police identified the culprits during the investigation into irregularities in the balance of four ATMs. The police cross-verified the transactions and identified the culprits through their debit and credit cards. Thereafter, police traced the location of two culprits and later arrested them.
Police ask Canara Bank to replace their ATMs
The police have advised Canara Bank to get rid of the ATMs manufactured by D-Bolt as the culprits have figured out a way to break into the machine. There are reportedly over 9 thousand Canara Bank ATM across the country manufactured by D-Bolt.