BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court denied bail to two South African nationals, who have been in judicial custody for around two years for allegedly being involved in ATM skimming cases.
“Merely being in judicial custody for almost two years itself is not grounds for granting bail to these petitioners. If they are released, securing them is highly impossible. The trial court shall endeavour to start the trial and dispose of the matter within a year,” said Justice K Natarajan.
The bail petitions were filed by Ivan Kambonge and Lawrence Makumu, who were arrested on December 7, 2022, based on a complaint lodged by Dr Tilak Ram of Sri Siddartha Medical College with CEN police station in Tumakuru.
The prosecution informed the court that the petitioners used to keep the device in the ATM, and would later make a fake debit or credit card using the information gathered through skimming. The police said that the petitioners are involved in almost 60 cases. There is every possibility that they might get a fake passport and evade justice if they are granted bail, the prosecution argued.
The complainant received a message on his phone at 11.12 am that Rs 10,000 has been withdrawn from his account and another Rs 10,000 at 11.12 am, and then Rs 5,000 at 11.14 am.