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A 24-year-old man was arrested on Friday for stealing ₹16,500 from a pensioner in Vandavasi near Tiruvannamalai a few days ago. The pensioner had sought his help to withdraw money from an ATM.
The police said the arrested person was identified as M. Sivanantham, a native of Ariyalur district. A few days ago, pensioner K. Ellumalai, 62, who retired as government bus driver, had visited an ATM on Sannithi Street to withdraw ₹5,000 from his account.
Since he did not know how to use the machine, Mr. Ellumalai sought the help of accused Sivanantham, who was waiting outside. After pretending to withdraw money from the machine, Mr. Sivanantham told the pensioner that his ATM card was not working. He replaced the original card with a duplicate one and gave it to him.
When Mr. Ellumalai returned home, he received a message on his phone saying ₹16,500 had been withdrawn from his account. He immediately checked with the bank in town and realised that his money was stolen.
Subsequently, he filed a complaint with the Vandavasi South Police, who checked the CCTV footage. They nabbed Sivanantham from the old bus terminus where he was waiting to board a bus to Kancheepuram.
The police recovered the stolen amount from him and seized three duplicate ATM cards. Initial inquiry revealed that accused Sivanantham already had six criminal cases in Ariyalur.
He has been lodged at Vandavasi sub-jail.
Published - September 13, 2024 11:46 pm IST
