ATM trickster arrested

NEW DELHI - A man who cheated people using ATMs by withdrawing money from their cards on the pretext of “securely locking their accounts” has been arrested, police said Monday.

Paras Luthra, 30, was present in an ATM centre in Adarsh Nagar in west Delhi. A couple after completing the transaction was on their way out when Luthra warned them that they had not locked their account properly.

“He convinced them to insert their ATM card repeatedly and enter the password for locking the account successfully. In the process, he swapped their card with another similar card,” a police official said, adding Luthra also managed to withdraw the maximum cash from their account from an adjacent machine in the confusion.

However, the wife noticed a difference in the signature on the card returned to them by Luthra and pointed it out. Luthra then tried to flee from the spot but was caught by the couple with the help of some local residents and handed over to police.

“During interrogation, the accused confessed that he cheated various people in the same fashion in that area. He further disclosed that he had cheated two persons of Rs.2.07 lakh and Rs.1.6 lakh recently,” said the official.

According to police, Luthra wore dark clothes and a cap in order to evade the closed circuit television cameras.

“The police have recovered ATM cards of various banks and a Honda City car from the accused. The source of acquiring the Honda City car is being verified. Four cases have been registered against Luthra,” added the official.