Faridabad Police has claimed a major breakthrough after busting an interstate gang involved in stealing lakhs of rupees by cutting open ATM machines with gas cutters. The Crime Branch of Sector-56 has solved two ATM theft cases and arrested five accused so far. Another alleged gang member is currently lodged in a Bihar jail and will be brought to Haryana on a production warrant.
In the first case, a representative of Hitachi Payment Services Pvt. Ltd. reported that an ATM located at Bhupani Mor was cut open with a gas cutter on the night of July 3-4, 2026. According to the complaint, Rs 6.53 lakh was stolen from the machine, following which an FIR was registered at Bhupani Police Station.
Police have arrested Vikas Kumar, 24, from Siwan district in Bihar, Hukam Chand, 34, a resident of Atali village in Faridabad and a serving Delhi Police constable, and Arvind, 26, also from Atali village.
During the investigation, police said Hukam Chand emerged as the alleged mastermind of the theft. According to investigators, he was under financial stress and planned the ATM theft along with Arvind. They allegedly brought in Vikas and another accused, Raju, who are both gas welders from Bihar. Police said Hukam Chand identified the ATM, shared its location with the gang and arranged the gas cutter and other equipment used in the crime. Acting on the plan, Vikas and Raju allegedly cut open the ATM and escaped with the cash.
Another accused, Raju, is currently lodged in a Bihar jail in connection with a motorcycle theft case. Faridabad Police said he will be brought to the city on a production warrant for further investigation.
In the second case, Yogesh, a resident of Bhaisrawali village, complained that an ATM installed near JCB Chowk in the Sector-58 area was cut open with a gas cutter on the night of July 26-27. Police said around Rs 5.71 lakh was stolen from the machine.
The accused in this case have been identified as Vikas Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, 19, and Vishal Kumar, 19, all residents of Siwan district in Bihar. They were arrested from Lucknow on August 2.
According to the investigation, after the Bhupani ATM theft, co-accused Raju was sent to jail in Bihar in another theft case. Police said Vikas then broke contact with Hukam Chand and recruited his brother Vishal and Abhishek from Bihar. The three allegedly carried out the second ATM theft in the Sector-58 area.
ACP Crime Aman Yadav said the accused were arrested from the Alambagh area of Lucknow after the Crime Branch analysed technical evidence, CCTV footage, and intelligence inputs and carried out continuous surveillance. The three accused have been remanded to five days of police custody for further questioning.
