06 December,2014 06:42 AM IST | | Shiva Devnath
Charkop Police has arrested an HDFC Bank ATM guard, who stole close to Rs 92,000 from an account and spent most of it on a bar girl
If you believe that it is safe to take help from the guard on duty at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), think again. Charkop Police has arrested an HDFC Bank ATM guard, who stole close to Rs 92,000 from an account and spent most of it on a bar girl.
Vijay Kadvarkar
The accused, identified as Vijay Kadvarkar (34), worked as an ATM guard in Charkop. API Pradip Rao Rane, from Charkop police station, said, "The complainant, Imtiyaz Khan, is a 62-year-old retired man. He has an account in Bank of Baroda, but the HDFC ATM is close to his house.
On November 30, Imtiyaz asked his son to withdraw R10,000 from the ATM, since he could not go himself as he was unwell. His son did not know how to use the machine and asked the guard on duty, Kadvarkar, for assistance." The accused, who also had a Bank of Baroda card in his possession, helped the victim's son withdraw money.
Instead of giving his father's card back, he swiftly exchanged it with his own and kept the victim's card with him, Rane added. With the debit card and the PIN number information, the accused withdrew around Rs 92,000 from Imtiyaz's account.
The victim had not activated the SMS facility provided by banks to receive a message every time money is withdrawn, and therefore, was not aware that Kadvarkar was withdrawing money. When Imtiyaz went to withdraw money on Wednesday, he was surprised when the machine refused to accept the PIN number.
He approached Bank of Baroda branch to complain that his ATM card was not working. However, officials at the bank informed him that his card has been working and in the past week, nearly Rs 92,000 had been withdrawn.
Shocked, Imtiyaz appro-ached Charkop police station and registered the complaint. During investigation, the police zeroed in on Kadvarkar, when they found out that the victim's son had taken his help, who was withdrawing money from the same ATM.
"We arrested Kadvarkar and have recovered Rs 14,000 from him. He says that he has spent the rest of the money on a bar girl in Dahisar. He has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC," said Rane.
