Duo steal ATM card by diverting attention; withdraw Rs 1.49 lakh from pension account

Bengaluru: The Indiranagar police are searching for two suspects who allegedly stole the ATM card of a senior citizen, and used it to withdrew Rs 1.49 lakh, savings of the victim’s mother-in-law, who receives an army pension.

As per the FIR, on December 30, between 8 and 8.30 pm, the 67-year-old victim was at the Indian Bank ATM on 80 feet road. Each month, he visited ATMs to withdraw about Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 from his 91-year-old mother-in-law’s pension account.

“I was trying, but could not withdraw the cash. The two suddenly entered and, pretending to help me, gave random instructions "to enter the PIN again, try entering it again", and so on,” the victim, who requested anonymity, said.

The two men were aged between 26 and 32 and spoke in Hindi, the victim said.

"Both my wife and I left after we could not withdraw the cash. Since the phone number linked to the bank account is my mother-in-law’s and she uses a basic feature phone, I rarely check it. However, on January 1, I checked the phone and learnt that Rs 1.49 lakh was withdrawn from the account,” the victim said.

He subsequently contacted the bank and, after requesting CCTV footage, saw the duo exchange the ATM card with a replica.

“When the suspects were guiding me, they must have seen or heard my PIN. Through the bank, I learnt that they withdrew the money in at least three separate transactions in different parts of the city between December 30 and January 1,” the victim said.

After verifying with the bank and confirming the jurisdiction, he approached the Indiranagar police. An FIR was registered on January 6 under BNS Section 318 (cheating).

“The suspects are yet to be apprehended. An investigation is underway,” a police officer said.