Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 4: The Mangaluru South police have cracked a case of indiscriminate and illegal use of a stolen ATM card to withdraw lacs of rupees from a bank, and arrested a couple from Tamil Nadu.

The accused Selvam (31) and his wife Fathima (28) from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, were arrested on Tuesday July 4.

As per the complaint, the Canara Bank ATM card of Joyce, an elderly resident of Falnir, was stolen in April, and since then, an amount of Rs 3,59,000 had been withdrawn from Joyce's account without her knowledge.

During investigation, the police learnt that Fathima worked as a maid at Joyce's residence for several years, and left her employment on April 14 this year. While leaving the house, the accused allegedly stole Joyce's ATM card and a diary containing password details. After Fathima left, Joyce travelled abroad.

The accused illegally withdrew cash amounting to Rs 3,59,000 in a total of 12 transactions between May 16 and June 26 this year. When Joyce returned to India on June 26, she noticed several SMS alerts in her mobile phone regarding cash withdrawal during the said period. She got these SMS alerts only after returning to her hometown. That is when she detected the withdrawals and approached the police.

The police who traced the culprits managed to arrest them and recover Rs 2,20,000 in cash and a gold chain weighing 20 gram which was purchased with the withdrawn amount.

Mangaluru South police inspector Beliappa and his team under the guidance of DCPs and ACP South conducted the investigation and solved the case.