Delhi: ATM fraud module busted; 3 held with over Rs 42 lakh stolen cash

The Delhi Police has arrested three men allegedly involved in ATM frauds across West Delhi district and recovered more than Rs 42.57 lakh in cash from the accused, an official said on Friday.

On November 12, investigators received specific inputs that a suspect, seen earlier in a CCTV footage, would return to an ATM in Tilak Nagar area to make fraudulent withdrawals, police said.

The suspect — Simran Sandhu (48), a resident of Vishnu Garden — was apprehended after he arrived on a scooty and withdrew cash from the ATM.

The police recovered Rs 50,000 in cash, three ATM cards, a mobile phone and a scooter from his possession.

Sandhu told investigators that he withdrew cash using fraudulent ATM cards allegedly supplied to him by Sanjeev Arora alias Sunny, and Vicky Tandon. He claimed he was paid Rs 1,200 as commission on every ATM card withdrawal, police said.

Based on this, police arrested Arora (51), who is allegedly the main handler and supplier of ATM cards. Eleven ATM cards and Rs 42.07 lakh in cash were recovered from him, police said.

Arora is a habitual cybercrime offender and has previously been arrested in cyber fraud cases by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) in 2016, and by Jabalpur police earlier this year, the officer said.

Vicky Tandon (44), resident of Moti Nagar, was also arrested for allegedly providing information on bank accounts with sufficient balance to facilitate withdrawals. Two ATM cards were seized from him. Tandon, too, has previous run-ins with the CBI (2016) and Jabalpur police (2025), police said.

During interrogation, the trio revealed that they worked as a coordinated ATM fraud module, with Arora arranging forged ATM cards, Tandon supplying account details, and Sandhu executing withdrawals, they added.

Police said two more suspects — identified as Shubham and Mahender — are absconding and efforts are on to trace them.

According to the police, Rs 42.57 lakh in cheated cash, 16 ATM cards, a scooter and three mobile phones have been recovered so far and further investigation is underway.