The city crime station police arrested a thief who was stealing ATM cards from the illiterate and elderly persons by offering to help them draw cash.
City Police Commissioner G. Sudheer Babu said they arrested Md. Yousuf Hussain and recovered 35 ATM cards, cell phone and ₹4.20 lakh. In all, the accused was involved in 35 offences across the State.
The modus operandi of the accused was to stand at ATM centres and look for illiterate and elderly who find difficult in withdrawing cash. He used to help them and pass on a fake ATM card while retaining the original and remembering the PIN number given by his victims.
The accused withdrew lakhs of rupees over the years and bought an apartment at Shaikpet in Hyderabad. He bought gold which he deposited in a private gold loan company. He was involved in eight crimes in Warangal police limits, seven in Kamareddy, six in Nalgonda, four in Medak, three in Zaheerabad, two in Bhongir, two each in Suryapet and Siddipet, and one in Nizamabad. In all, he withdrew nearly Rs 20 lakh.
On credible information, the CCS police laid a trap at an ATM centre opposite MGM Hospital on Saturday night and caught him red handed. Mr. Sudheer Babu said such detections are rare as criminals use technology and move from one place to another. He complimented the team of police personnel – ACP I. Puja, Inspector P. David Raju, ASI Sanjeeva Reddy, head constable Srinivas Raju, constables Sk Munna, Ravi Kumar and V Jampaiah for their efforts.
