Police nab Delhi-based kingpin in ATM fraud

Using skimmers, money was swindled from 30 bank customers of Vadakara

A special investigation team of Kozhikode rural police has proved its mettle in tracking a well-planned banking fraud in which a Delhi-based gang withdrew money from the account of around 30 persons from Vadakara using the ATM skimmers nearly three months ago. The recent arrest of Sugeeth Varma from Delhi, who was reportedly the kingpin behind the theft with the support of two local youths, is expected to crack secret operations of similar gangs in Kerala. According to police, three of the five suspects have already been arrested in the case which uncovered the inter-State collaboration of criminals specialised in banking frauds. Intensified search is underway with the support of various inter-State investigation teams for tracking the two persons at large. It was one of the rare incidents in which the local youths were also found colluding with the North Indian rackets for quick financial gains, they said. It was the arrest of two engineering graduates from Villiappally on March 31 that helped the police to expose the inter-State network of the fraudsters’ gangs. The two youths were reportedly in touch with the three-member gang, including the recently arrested man, for fixing the skimmers in various ATMs. In their joint operation between February and March, 2021, the local account holders had lost about ₹6 lakh. The ATM card details of more than 100 persons had been tapped in the trickery.