Couple, Nigerian among five arrested for banking frauds

The gang was engaged in hacking into bank accounts of customers and withdrawing money from them, the police official said. According to the official, the accused, arrested from New Delhi on Sunday, were identified as Neetika Chitra, her husband Deepak, Raman Kumar, Avtar Singh alias Happy and the Nigerian national named only as "Press".

Five members of a criminal gang, including a married couple and a Nigerian national, were arrested by the Dhule police of Maharashtra from New Delhi for banking frauds, an official said on Monday. The gang was engaged in hacking into bank accounts of customers and withdrawing money from them, the police official said.

According to the official, the accused, arrested from New Delhi on Sunday, were identified as Neetika Chitra, her husband Deepak, Raman Kumar, Avtar Singh alias Happy and the Nigerian national named only as "Press". Explaining their modus operandi, he said gang members would hack into bank accounts after fraudulently obtaining Know Your Customer (KYC) details of their holders and clean them out.

The frauds came to light after the manager of a private bank approached the Dhule police in north Maharashtra and complained about fraudulent withdrawal of over Rs 2 crore from 27 accounts belonging to 18 banks, the official said. After registration of an FIR, the police launched a probe and first arrested Neetika Chitra, and later the other gang members were nabbed, he said.

The police recovered ATM cards, a cash counting machine, laptops, cash and other items worth around Rs 6 lakh, from them, the official said. The accused were produced before a local court which sent them in police custody till November 3, he added.

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