Paradip, Oct. 24: Police have arrested two persons from Dhanbad in Jharkhand, cracking a case of the mysterious disappearance of cash from the automated teller machines (ATM).

The accused persons, Imtiaz Khan and Sallauddin Khan, were remanded in jail custody today after a local court rejected their bail application.

“Video footages from camera installed at the ATM counters led to the culprits’ identification. The duo had withdrawn Rs 60,000 from the accounts of an account-holder from Balikuda on October 17 and 18,” said inspector of Balikuda police station Balram Nayak.

The duo had deceived hundreds of ATM cardholders. The glib-talking culprits used to target ATM cardholders, who were least versed with the money withdrawal procedures. They used to steal ATM cards and later used those to cheat others. The criminals’ area of operation expanded across the state, including busy counters near railway stations, hospitals and strategic traffic junctions.

Loot bid

A gang of burglars made an abortive bid to loot cash from an ATM located at Indupur marketplace in the Nikirai police station limits, about 20km from here, yesterday. “The attempt was made at an AXIS bank ATM. The criminals failed to break open the cash-carrying machine,” said inspector of NIkirai police station Kiran Kumar Hembram.