New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) The Delhi Police have arrested two accused for tampering with the cash-dispensing mechanism of ATMs, officials said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Aman and Suraj. Both of them are in their twenties and hail from Uttar Pradesh.

According to the investigators, the accused were previously employed at ‘HITACHI’ as custodians and were responsible for depositing and withdrawing the cash from the ATM machines of Axis Bank. While working at the company, they gained knowledge about the working of the ATMs and the loopholes in the machines

An official statement said that on September 15, a team of Special Staff, Central District, received specific secret information that Aman and Suraj would arrive near Mirdard Wali Gali, Tagore Road, behind Civic Centre, Delhi, on a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle.

Upon receiving the tip, a dedicated team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Sandeep Yadav, I/C Special Staff, Central District, comprising SI Vijay, SI Satish, SI Naresh, HC Manish, HC Munesh, HC Mohit, HC Vikas, HC Deepak, HC Inderjeet, HC Hariom, HC Heera Lal, Ct. Surajpal, Ct. Jayant, Ct. Sumit and Ct. Ajay, under the overall supervision of ACP Operations, Central District, Delhi, Padam Singh Rana.

Acting on the information, the team laid a trap near the rear side of the MCD Building, in front of Reliance Building, Tagore Road, Kamla Market in Delhi.

At about 11:20 p.m., two persons approached from the Gandhi Market side on a motorcycle. The secret informer identified them as the persons mentioned in the information. When the police team signaled them to stop, both attempted to flee. After a brief chase, both accused were apprehended along with the vehicle.

Police recovered one illegal country-made pistol and two live cartridges while searching Suraj. During the frisking of Aman, three live cartridges were recovered.

Accordingly, FIR No. 288/2026 dated 16.09.2026 under Sections 25/54/59 Arms Act, PS Kamla Market, Central District, Delhi, was registered.

Officials said during sustained interrogation, the accused disclosed that they targeted ATMs during relatively less crowded hours and on Saturdays and Sundays, particularly when security guards were not present.

According to investigators, the accused allegedly misused their familiarity with the functioning of ATMs. While working at the company, they had learnt the whole process of tampering with ATMs and withdrawing cash from machines illegally.

The accused allegedly got the keys of the targeted ATM machines from their earlier associate to gain access, tamper with the cash-dispensing mechanism and place rubber rings to create an obstruction. Thereafter, they would close the machine and leave the spot, officials said.

Subsequently, when a genuine customer entered the ATM, inserted or swiped their ATM card and entered the PIN and other required details for a cash withdrawal, the transaction would be processed. However, due to the obstruction created inside the cash-dispensing mechanism, the cash would not come out through the normal dispensing outlet and would instead remain trapped inside the ATM’s internal dispensing area/tray.

The customer, believing that the cash had not been dispensed, would leave the ATM booth. The accused would then return to the ATM, opened the machine with the help of the keys already available with them and retrieve the cash that had remained trapped inside the ATM.

The accused disclosed during interrogation that they had adopted this modus operandi at multiple ATMs of Axis Bank in Sector 4–5, Gurugram, as well as at ICICI Bank ATMs in Kapashera and nearby areas of Delhi.

Further investigation is underway where the investigators are contacting the concerned police stations in these areas to ascertain whether any FIRs have been registered in connection with similar incidents.

–IANS

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