Labour contractor duped of ₹20,000 in ATM fraud at Amraiwadi, accused arrested

The Amraiwadi police have arrested a man for allegedly duping a local labour contractor of ₹20,000 by posing as a bank employee and fraudulently swapping his ATM card in Amraiwadi.

Dineshbhai Bhanjibhai Parmar (47), a resident of Amraiwadi, in his complaint stated that the incident occurred on July 21, 2025, around 7.30 pm. Parmar, who works as a labour contractor, had gone to withdraw cash from the Bank of India ATM, opposite Amraiwadi Bhil Society to pay his workers.

While he was attempting to withdraw cash, an unknown man approached him, claiming to be a bank employee, and offered to help. “The man said there was a problem with the machine and asked for my card and PIN to assist me,” Parmar stated in his complaint. Trusting him, Parmar handed over his Kotak Mahindra Bank ATM card and PIN.

The accused, later identified as Nagjibhai Rabari, a resident of Mehsana, allegedly swapped Parmar’s card with another ATM card and advised him to try withdrawing money from a different ATM. Minutes later, Parmar received SMS alerts indicating that ₹20,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account through two transactions made between 7.54 pm and 7.56 pm.

Parmar, who was away at work after the incident, did not immediately report the fraud. He approached the police on October 14, 2025 after recognising the suspect’s photo in a press note issued by the Amraiwadi police, which detailed the arrest of a man involved in similar ATM frauds.

During questioning, Parmar identified Rabari as the same person who had duped him in July. Investigators said Rabari was part of a large group that targeted unsuspecting ATM users, particularly those unfamiliar with digital banking, by pretending to assist them and then withdrawing cash using stolen cards and PINs.

During the investigation, police recovered 81 ATM cards and ₹19,500 in cash from Rabari’s possession. Preliminary probe has revealed that he was involved in several similar frauds across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Mehsana districts.

The police have so far detected 14 cases of ATM fraud linked to the accused. Efforts are underway to trace other victims and verify the extent of the fraud network.