Pune: A Rajasthani gang managed to defraud banks of over ₹1.28 crore by manipulating ATM transactions through power supply disruptions at ATM centers.
The gang's operations targeted 49 ATMs across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad between December 14, 2017, and April 16, 2019. After a prolonged jurisdictional dispute between Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, the case was finally registered five years later.
The gang's tactic involved visiting ATM centers, initiating cash withdrawals, and then cutting off the power supply just before the cash was dispensed.
This trick caused the transaction to be marked as incomplete in the ATM's system while the gang members would forcibly take the cash. The incidents primarily involved ATMs installed by Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd. on behalf of State Bank of India (SBI).
The cumulative fraud across 49 ATM centers amounted to ₹1,28,76,520. While SBI was expected to file a complaint, the bank instead recovered the lost amount by deducting it from the payments owed to Tata Communications.
Consequently, Tata Communications lodged an online complaint with the Cyber Police five years ago. However, jurisdictional confusion between Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police led to repeated transfers of the complaint between the two commissionerates.
After three changes in investigating officers, the complaint was finally addressed by Police Sub-Inspector Rameshwar Rewale, who registered the case.
Investigations are underway to track down the perpetrators responsible for the systematic fraud, which exploited vulnerabilities in ATM security measures.
