UP man tries to break ATM with fire extinguisher
The man, 26, attempted to break the ATM at the Lekhraj metro station under the Ghazipur area of Lucknow.
The arrest of members of an ATM robbers’ gang has opened the Pandora box’s for Himachal Police as startling revelations are coming to light as the investigations are progressing.
Police officials said the gang was so professional that they could break open an ATM in three minutes. What is baffling the cops more is the manner in which banks have been leaving the ATMs unguarded in utter disregard to the guidelines and suggestions.
In a meeting between police and bank officials held in 2016 after some ATM thefts in Kangra, the need for better security measures was underlined. The banks were asked to deploy security guards at ATMs located in remote areas and ensure that the new machines are installed near the public places.
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The bank officials at that time had assured proper security measures, including installation of Remote Sensing Device software that will alert police and bank officials in case of use of force to open the teller machine.
“However, in the two ATM thefts in Kangra district, neither police nor the bank officials got any alert from the machine,” Sanjeev Gandhi, Superintendent of Police, Kangra, told The Statesman.
Also, police officials are also shocked the way the ATMs in interior areas being loaded with large sums of cash — in one case as high as Rs. 25 lakh — by private agencies.
The police are now also probing the role of workers of these agencies. “There is possibility that someone from among the cash-loading staff might have tipped off the robbers. The lavish lifestyle of the staffers raises suspicion,” he said.
“We will soon convene a meeting with bank officials to review security arrangements and again give them suggestions to avert such incidents,” Gandhi said.
Police will urge banks to deploy security guards for night as that will also provide employment to local youth. “They will also be asked to install ATMs near public places or petrol pumps,” he said.
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