Boost security at ATM kiosks, police give directives to banks

THANE: After a few ATM thefts were reported in the state in recent times, the Thane police have given a directive to be followed by bank officials to avoid such crimes. The police themselves will be intensifying the patrolling near these kiosks in the future.

In the past two years, six cases of thefts at ATMs have been registered in the Thane commissionerate, all of which were detected. In June, an ATM machine in Kalyan was robbed by four including bank employees as there was no security around the machine.

A senior officer from Thane said, “Such incidents are gradually on the rise. So, we have issued certain directives. Owing to the lockdown, most banks were short-staffed while the security equipment was not maintained. We have asked them to ensure each kiosk had a guard, ample lighting and operational CCTV cameras, among other things.

S Jadhav, police inspector of

ATMs also need to have an alarm system to alert forced entries.

S JADHAV,

Mahatma Phule Police station, added that in most cases, the accused does a recce of the kiosks with maximum security lapses. “Apart from a security guard and CCTV cameras, the ATMs also need to have an alarm system to alert forced entries. The security guard should also be subjected to a background check. ATM centres should display all emergency contacts of the area including police, fire brigade and bank office,” he said.

Police department has stationed employees to patrol ATMs at night while local police officials will be visiting in civil clothes those ATMs that are at remote locations.