Cuttack, Feb. 17: Much like the common man, politicians are also getting prone to various cyber frauds owing to lack of awareness.

Gurupada Nanda, a senior Congress leader and former chief whip, has become a victim of one such hi-tech crime. Nanda has been duped of Rs 4,39,000 in an ATM card theft and subsequent withdrawal from his account.

Carrying out investigations into the case, the crime branch cyber cell officials have arrested one Nilakantha Pani, 26, of Nayagarh.

Sources said that Pani had earlier worked as Nanda's driver for a short period of time.

'Somehow, the accused had got access to the ATM card and the four-digit PIN number and took away money from the account,' said additional director-general of police (crime branch) B.K. Sharma.

Sharma said that it was still unclear how the accused managed to get the PIN number and carry out the transactions.

A detail probe is being conducted to ascertain whether it was the same ATM card that was stolen or any duplicate card, which had been used for the crime.

Sources said that after getting the ATM card, the accused had waited for Nanda to travel abroad.

The cyber police suspect that the accused had chosen various ATM counters with defunct cameras at Khurda and Nayagarh to withdraw the money.

The accused, with the help of one of his associates, had withdrawn the money on several occasions, while the complainant had lodged a complaint after getting an SMS text regarding such unusual transactions from his account on September 16, last year.

Sources said that the accused had purchased a motorcycle and other articles with the stolen money.

Nanda did not suspected Pani's involvement initially, as he had worked as a driver for a short while.

Crime branch sources said that the accused had taken advantage of the loopholes in the security system of various ATM machines at Khurda and Nayagarh. He had managed to commit the offence, as the images recorded in the closed-circuit television cameras were hazy. The accused has been booked under various sectionsof the IPCandthe IT Act, 2008.#'We have produced the accused before the sub-divisional judicial magistrate court in Bhubaneswar today and he will be brought on a three-day remand for further interrogation,' Sharma said.