Lucknow, Jul 18 (IANS): Two Pratapgarh residents have been arrested by the Hussainganj police in Lucknow for allegedly tampering with ATMs and stealing money.

DCP (central) Aparna Rajat Kaushik, said, "They used plastic clips to block the part of the ATM from where currency bills are dispensed. When a user would come to withdraw money, they would have to return empty handed and then the thieves would go back to machine, remove the clips, and take out the cash."

She added, "The thieves have been identified as Pankaj Yadav and Mehtab Hassan -- both residents of Pratapgarh. They were arrested on Monday with the help of the CCTV installed inside the ATM. Back in 2020, the accused duo had been arrested in Pratapgarh in other cases," the DCP added.

Jitendra Pratap Singh, SHO, Hussainganj Police station, said that these accused would often target secluded ATMs with no guards. Also, the elderly were their prime targets.

"We were getting several complaints of ATM failing to dispense cash. When the users called the bank, they would be told that their cash was dispensed and collected. This helped us find leads. We scanned the CCTV footage of several ATMs in the Hussainganj area to nab them,” he added.

Singh further said, "The men have been booked under several IPC sections and cash worth Rs 29,000 was also recovered."