Siliguri Metropolitan Police on Monday evening busted an inter-state gang that siphoned cash from peoples’ bank accounts after swapping their debit cards with fake ones.

Those arrested are Sonu Kumar, Gagan Kumar of Najafgarh and Subash Thakur of Delhi, and Mahamad Tamanne of Darbhanga in Bihar. Police said the gang, active in Siliguri, Darjeeling North and South Dinajpur, used to target senior citizens.

Rajen Chhetri, additional commissioner of police (detective department) of the SMP, said the gang members would pretend to help the aged withdraw cash from ATM kiosks.

“Once the job was done, they would take the real card and hand over an almost-identical fake one to the victim. They would use the real card to transfer cash from the victim’s account to their own,” he said.

On Monday, police intercepted a SUV near Hanskowa tea estate on the outskirts of Siliguri while it was heading towards Bihar and found the four occupants inside it. “We searched them and recovered 91 ATM cards, the Payswiff machine, six cell phones and some cash. The vehicle has also been seized,” Chhetri added.

On Monday too, the gang had cheated Rs 40,000 from an elderly person from near Jalpai More of Siliguri, police said.

The police are contacting banks to gather more information about the gang. “We are also trying to find out how much money they have swindled from people in this manner,” the officer said.