An assistant police inspector (API) from Vasai police station sought help from a man at an ATM in the area to link his Aadhaar and bank account details, but got robbed of Rs 39,000 within minutes, on Saturday

An assistant police inspector (API) from Vasai police station sought help from a man at an ATM in the area to link his Aadhaar and bank account details, but got robbed of Rs 39,000 within minutes, on Saturday. According to police sources, when API Vasant Ganpat Vayantande inserted his ATM card in the machine, it asked for his Aadhaar details. As he was not being able to understand how to go about it, he sought help from a person, who was in the queue behind him. The accused not only helped him enter his Aadhaar details, but also withdrew Rs 1,000 for him. However, at the time of returning the card to Vasant, he cleverly replaced it with a different card, which he had stolen from a person in Bhayander area the previous day.



CCTV footage shows the accused (circled) helping the victim to link his Aadhaar card at the ATM. Pic/Hanif Patel

Within minutes of Vasant leaving the ATM, the accused inserted his card into the machine and withdrew Rs 39,000. The victim was shocked when he received a message regarding the transaction. He immediately rushed back to the ATM, but the accused had escaped by then. Thereafter, he approached the Manikpur police station and filed a complaint in the matter.

Speaking to mid-day, Anil Patil, senior inspector of Manikpur police station, said, "We have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. CCTV footages of the ATM have been sent to different police stations. The accused will be arrested soon."

Rs 1000 Amount the accused helped the victim to withdraw at the ATM

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