A Bengaluru man was arrested on Monday, September 20 by the RR Nagar Police for allegedly cheating people for money. The accused, Naveen Kumar, would approach people in the ATMs and ask for money under the pretence that he has reached the maximum limit of the withdrawal but needs to transfer money urgently, according to a press note by Bengaluru DCP (West). The police have been on the lookout for him since August 12 when the first complaint was registered against him at Vijaynagar Police Station.
Speaking to TNM, the RR Nagar police inspector, Shiva Reddy, said, “The accused would look for people who arrive at the ATM to deposit money in the cash deposit machine. He would go out, and later approach the person asking to lend him money saying he has reached the maximum withdrawal limit. Through a mobile application called ‘Vyapar’, he forwards a fake bank statement of payment request on WhatsApp and they would send the money thinking it’s from the bank.”
The inspector further added that the accused had two cases against him – one in RR Nagar and one in Vijaynagar – and has allegedly duped people of a total of over Rs 1 lakh. The inspector also said that the accused would go to police stations on the pretext of buying jackets and warmers for police officials and acquaint himself with the officers there.
The Deputy Commissioner (West) Sanjeev Patil said that the accused had also approached the RR Nagar Police and offered to buy everyone jackets. The accused was sent away after asking him to meet the inspector, Patil said. “The crime staff at the police station recognised the accused from his previous description and arrested him. The staff has been rewarded for noticing the details and arresting the accused,” he said.
Kumar was booked under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66(D) (cheating using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.
The DCP further added that due to this incident, the police in his zone have begun aggressively campaigning and have been warning people to not talk with anyone while in an ATM centre until they finish their transaction and have stepped out of the ATM.