Trio swaps woman's debit card at ATM, swindles Rs 2 lakh from account

The victim P Suganthi (45) of Moolakothalam tried withdraw cash from an SBI ATM on Rajaji Salai on July 14 and since the cash was not remitted, she sought help from a man waiting near the ATM.

After she was told that there was no money at the ATM, she left for work. However, two days later she noticed that she had received SMS for withdrawal transaction for Rs 1 lakh on July 14 and 15 and purchase of jewels for Rs 99,000 at a popular jewellery shop.

A shocked Suganthi checked her debit card and found it to be a fake card. She approached North Beach police and a case was registered.

Combing the CCTV footage at the ATM revealed that the man Suganthi sought help from was the culprit as he swapped her debit card and gave her a duplicate card. Since there were two more men interacting with him in the footage, a hunt was launched for them.

Police retrieved the phone number given for the purchase of the jewels and located one of suspects. He was secured and identified as Chandan Sahani of Bihar. Investigation revealed that he reached the city along with his two accomplices and stayed at a lodge to commit the fraud. He was remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday and a hunt has been launched for his accomplices.