Gurugram, Feb 9 (IANS): In an order to curb thefts, the Gurugram police on Friday sealed several ATM kiosks in the Sohna area that were operating without security guards

The police pasted a notice on the main shutters of the booths, saying that if any bank has any objections, they can contact the SHO concerned.

"We have requested the banks to deploy 24-hour security guards on their ATMs so that thieves do not make attempts to commit theft. Banks should pay heed to the police instructions immediately. When they failed to act, we locked up the ATMs," Gurugram police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.

Earlier also, banks had been told to deploy guards at the ATMs, but most of these did not follow the instructions, while some banks deployed guards during the daytime only and not at night.

A bank official said when an ATM kiosk is open in the daytime, most banks have already deployed guards, but when the kiosks are lying closed at night, banks are not responsible for deploying guards. It’s the duty of the police to conduct routine patrolling so that no ATM theft takes place, the official added.