Rise and Fall of ‘Robinhood’: Delhi Police Arrests Ex-Serviceman for ATM Card Swap Scam

An ex-serviceman, widely known as “Robinhood” in his village in Rajasthan, was apprehended by the Delhi Police on Thursday for allegedly deceiving individuals by swapping their ATM cards, officials reported.

Accused aka ‘ATM’

According to the police, the accused, Rajender Kumar Meena, known as ATM in his village, had been previously arrested in a similar case.

He served in the Indian army for 18 years. “He would install certain devices in the ATM machine and wait for potential victims at the kiosk.

When a customer attempted to withdraw money, their transaction would be declined.

Subsequently, Meena would offer assistance and swap their ATM card with another, subsequently withdrawing money from the victim’s account,” stated Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) M Harsha Vardhan.

With Meena’s arrest, 17 such cases spanning across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Delhi have been resolved, noted the DCP.

Discharged from Duty

“He was discharged from the army due to allegations of theft and faced various criminal charges.

Good or Bad?

The accused has also admitted to using the stolen funds to aid the impoverished in his village,” the DCP added.

Meena is prominently known as “Robinhood” in his village, Nyorana village in Neem Ka Thana district in Rajasthan, and has contributed significantly to supporting the underprivileged, the DCP mentioned. The officer further disclosed that Meena had intentions to contest for the sarpanch position in Panchayat elections from his village.

“We have seized 192 ATM cards, Rs 24,000 in cash, and one gold earring from him,” he disclosed.

Complaint Filed

The incident came to light on May 5, following a cheating complaint registered at Karol Bagh police station, in which the complainant reported that on April 16, an unknown individual exchanged his ATM card at a private bank in Gaffar market.

“The fraudster withdrew Rs 22,000 cash from his account from an ATM of another bank located at Tank Road Karol Bagh. An FIR was filed, and further investigation commenced,” explained the DCP.

The investigative team scrutinized the movements of suspects near the site of the incident and examined various CCTV footage to track the accused and his route, he mentioned.

“Through the analysis of CCTV cameras, the accused was identified as Rajender Kumar Meena, aka ATM, and was arrested on May 5 from the Karol Bagh area,” the DCP concluded. A total of 26 FIRs were lodged against Meena across Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. Further investigation is ongoing, he added.

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