ATM card duping racket in Byndoor: People offer help at kiosks, return duplicate card to customers
Byndoor: A duping racket involving the theft of ATM cards under the pretext of helping came to light under the Byndoor Police Station limits on Tuesday, where the miscreants took the original ATM card and drew the cash for the customer, but returned a duplicate card.
Three separate cases have been registered at the Byndoor Police Station based on the complaints filed by people who were cheated of their ATM cards by members of the duping web.
Chaitra, a resident of Shiroor had gone on Tuesday morning to draw money from a Canara Bank ATM situated near the Shiroor market, Balkis Banu, who had visited the Shiroor Urban Bank ATM, and Chandrashekhar, a resident of Salvadi village who went to the State Bank of India ATM in Byndoor, complained to the police, narrating to the officers their experiences at the kiosks.
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As Chaitra, Balkis Banu and Chandrashekhar were unable to draw money from their respective ATMs, each of them was offered help by another customer inside the kiosk. Taking the card, the second customer also attempted to draw cash and, saying he too was unable to draw money, returned the card to the owner, before leaving the kiosk.
In each of the three cases, however, the card owner realized a little later that the second customer had returned a duplicate in place of the original card. Much to their horror, the complainants, on inquiring at the bank, found that money had been drawn from their respective accounts. Chaitra had lost Rs 21,000, Balkis Banu lost Rs 5,000 and Chandrashekhar found that Rs 2 lakh had been drawn from his account.
Byndoor Police, who are investigating the matter, said that the complainants informed them that the fraudsters spoke to them in Hindi, which gave rise to the suspicion that the criminals were from outside Karnataka. The investigation is being conducted taking into consideration the possibility of a crime racket by non-Kannadigas, the police added.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
