Delhi Police arrests man wanted in multiple ATM thefts from Haryana’s Mewat

A 37-year-old man wanted in multiple cases of uprooting Automated Teller Machines (ATM) across several states was apprehended by Delhi Police from Haryana’s Mewat region, police said on Saturday.

The accused — identified as Mubarik Ali alias Mubba, a resident of Palwal in Haryana — was a proclaimed offender and had been on the run for nearly a year, they said.

Ali was wanted for his involvement in the uprooting an ATM in Wazirabad earlier this year. A case in this regard was registered at Wazirabad police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, a senior police officer said.

On February 6, 2025, a group of criminals uprooted the ATM in Wazirabad after spraying paint on CCTV cameras installed inside the kiosk. The ATM contained Rs 29.12 lakh in cash at the time, police said.

Given the audacious nature of the crime, the investigation was transferred to the Crime Branch. Within three days, two accused were arrested from Nuh in Haryana. During interrogation, they admitted that the operation was directed by Ali, who had gone underground and was coordinating similar offences from different locations, police said.

Subsequently, other members of the gang were arrested and the stolen ATM, along with a portion of the looted cash, was recovered from a borewell in Nuh, they said.

However, Ali continued to evade arrest and was allegedly recruiting fresh associates to carry out ATM thefts across states, police said.

Following continuous technical surveillance and intelligence gathering, the accused was traced to Maharashtra and later intercepted while moving towards Rajasthan. After chasing him across several states, a Crime Branch team finally apprehended him from Mewat on December 26, they said.

Police said Mubarik Ali was a habitual offender involved in at least 10 criminal cases registered in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, including offences related to ATM thefts, attempt to murder and Arms Act violation.

Further interrogation of the accused was underway to trace additional cases and recoveries, police added.