BILASPUR,INDIA: Bilaspur police have caught a gang that steals money by pasting a special type of strip on the shutter box of ATMmachines. The accused had stolen money from SBI ATMs (Maharana Pratap Chowk, Bapji Park and Rajkishore Nagar) using the technique. The accused used to trap the customer in the shutter after withdrawing the money and later steal the notes.

Police acted swiftly after the complaint and caught the accused through CCTV footage and the Swift Dzire car used in the incident. The arrested accused include four people, who used to roam around in the city and commit crimes. Police have seized the stolen money, a car and three belts.

On January 11, 2025, Ashish Pankaj Kumar tried to withdraw ₹ 9,500 from the SBI ATM located at Bapji Park, Bilaspur. The money did not come out but a white and blue strip was seen stuck in the shutter box. The victim immediately dialled 112 and informed on the toll free number of the ATM. Police reached the spot, registered the case and started investigation.

The suspects were seen in the CCTV footage in a Swift Dzire car (number CG 06 GZ 5129). Police traced the vehicle and caught the accused from Old Bus Stand, Imlipara.

The accused used to put adhesive strips on the shutter box of the ATM and wait for the customer to leave. Customer's money used to get stuck in the shutter. After the customer left, they would remove the bandage and steal the money.

Police seized a Swift Dezire car (serial number CG 06 GZ 5129) and blue-white stripes besides ₹30,000 in cash from the arrested criminals. The arrested are Nilesh Chandravanshi (31), Vikas Nagar, Police Station Civil Line, Virendra Kumar Suryavanshi (38), Hemu Nagar, police station Torwa, Mahendra Kumar Patel (28), Dayalpur, police station Saliha and Yogesh Patel (22), Dayalpur, Saliha police station.

Under the direction of Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh, the team of ACCU and Civil Line police station together took the action. All the accused have been sent to jail in judicial custody. The police have appealed to the public to immediately inform the bank or police in case of non-withdrawal of money from the ATM. Pay attention to suspicious activities around ATMs.