Pune: Shivajinagar Police Arrest ATM Fraudster Who Swapped Cards to Steal Thousands
Shivajinagar, 22nd October 2024: A man who used his sleight of hand to swap Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and defraud citizens of money has been arrested by Pune Police. The accused approached a person at an ATM under the pretence of offering help. After swapping the person’s ATM card, he falsely claimed there were no funds available, but later withdrew thousands of rupees using the victim’s password, which had been shared in good faith. The arrest was made by the Shivajinagar Police Station.
The accused, identified as Pramod Sitaram Yalmar (age 47, resident of Janwadi, originally from Khatav, Satara), has multiple cases registered against him under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 318(4) for cheating.
According to police reports, a case was registered at Shivajinagar Police Station by a man who was duped of ₹29,000 while attempting to withdraw money from a bank. The accused, Yalmar, pretended to assist the complainant, and using sleight of hand, swapped the complainant’s ATM card with his own. He then falsely claimed there wasn’t enough balance and later withdrew money using the complainant’s card and password, which the victim had shared.
On 18th October, while Police Sub-Inspector Ajit Bade and his team were patrolling the area, Police Constable Praveen Dadas spotted a man matching the accused’s description on Jangali Maharaj Road (JM Road). Upon investigation, 11 ATM cards and ₹17,000 in cash were found in his possession. This arrest led to the solving of six cases—two registered at Shivajinagar, one at Vishrambaug, and one at Sinhagad Road Police Stations in Pune City, along with cases registered at Vaduj and Dahiwadi Police Stations in Satara District. The accused, a notorious repeat offender, was skilled in committing crimes using hand dexterity. PSI Ajit Bade is continuing the investigation.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Praveen Kumar Patil, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 1) Sandeep Singh Gill, along with Assistant Commissioner of Police (Vishrambaug Division).
The team, led by Senior Police Inspector Chandrashekar Sawant and Police Inspector Chandrakant Suryawanshi, included Police Sub-Inspector Ajit Bade and Police Constables Deepak Chavan, Sachin Jadhav, Pramod Mohite, Atul Sathe, Rupesh Waghmare, Rajkiran Pawar, Mahavir Walte, Praveen Dadas, Sudam Tayade, and Shrikrushna Sangave, all from Shivajinagar Police Station.
