Bangalore: Ultimatum to banks: Provide security to ATMs in 3 days or shut down
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Nov 20: A day after the gruesome attack against the woman, Jyothi Uday, in the ATM kiosk in Bangalore on Tuesday morning near the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) office, the State Government has come out with an ultimatum to all Banks to provide security in all their unmanned Automated Teller Machine (ATM) centres within 3 days or shut them down.
Karnataka Home Minister K J George, who chaired a high-level meeting with senior police officers to review the situation in Bangalore on Wednesday, told reporters after the meeting that all the private and nationalized bank managements have been directed to provide security at all ATMs located in the City in the next three days.
The Minister obtained information from senior officers about location of ATMs established by various banks in the City and number of security personnel deployed to ensure smooth transactions.
Director-General and Inspector General of Police L R Pachau, City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar and other senior officials attended the meeting.
The Minister said there were as many as 2,500 ATMs in the city and 600 were unmanned.
The 38-year-old woman, Jyothi Uday, who was working as a manager of the Corporation Bank Service Branch, was attacked by an unidentified youth, who carried a big machete, inside the ATM kiosk at LIC building near Corporation Circle in the City on Tuesday.
The attack on the woman was for monetary gain and not for personnel enemity, the minister said the police were making all out efforts to nab the culprit with the help of the CCTV camera footage of the incident.
''It is the responsibility of banks to provide security at their ATMs,” he said pointing out that it was impossible on the part of the government to provide security at ATMs.
The banks should close down all those ATMs if they were unable to deploy security personnel, George warned.
To formulate guidelines on providing security at ATMs, the Home Minister said a committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary S K Pattanaik has been constituted.
The committee comprised officials of the Law Department, officials of banks and Home Department, George said.
To assess the locations of unmanned ATMs in the city, he said a special squad would be formed. ''We are seriously concerned at the attacks and robbery attempts in ATMs,” he said.
The Home Department has also decided to take all steps to prevent attacks on users of ATMs and ensure law and order in the City as well as in the State, George added.