The ATM counter at Survey. Picture by Eastern Projections

June 2: When autorickshaw driver Chandan Barman picked up two ATM cards outside an SBI branch in Beltola, he could barely believe that their owner had been naïve enough to write down the PIN codes on them.

In the plan that followed, Barman missed one crucial detail — that the automated teller machine counter was fitted with a closed-circuit television, which would catch him and his aide live in the act.

By the time police picked up the duo last night after watching the CCTV footage, the thugs had already spent Rs 45,000 of the Rs 95,100 they had withdrawn from Rafia Ahmed’s account.

Piecing together the story from confessions made by Barman, 27 and his accomplice, Pankaj Gayan, 28, during interrogation, a police source said on May 28, two ATM cards fell out of Rafia’s bag at the Beltola branch of the SBI.

“Chandan Barman immediately picked up the ATM cards and left. Later, he took Pankaj along with him and went to an SBI ATM counter at Survey to withdraw money,” the police officer said. “Rafia had written the four figure secret codes on the cards, which made their job easier.”

The duo withdrew the amount from two ATM counters located at Survey and Super Market areas in five attempts on May 28 and 29.

“After she failed to find her ATM cards, Rafia reported the matter to Hatigaon police outpost on May 29 and then informed the bank authorities, requesting them to block her accounts,” the officer said.

“From the bank she came to know that Rs 95,100 has already been withdrawn from her accounts. It was then that we swung into action and collected the details of the transactions from the bank.”

The police checked the CCTV footage of the ATM counter that were recorded at the time when the money was first withdrawn from Rafia’s account. “We saw two youths gingerly withdrawing Rs 100. When they succeeded, both started beaming,” he said.

“With the help of their photographs we launched a search. One of our sources identified Chandan as an autorickshaw driver from Supermarket. Acting on that information and by tracking the registration number of his auto, the two were arrested from Hatigaon.”

Of the stolen amount, Rs 50,000 was recovered. The duo were remanded in judicial custody.