To prevent thefts, police for ATM machines that spray ink

CHANDIGARH:With the cops failing to crack a single ATM (automated teller machine) theft this year and most banks loath to upgrade their security systems, the Punjab Police has written to the Reserve Bank of India to explore the possibility of installing ink spray equipment in ATMs.

A bank in Chandigarh has placed its ATM in an iron frame. Tribune photo:Manoj Mahajan

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 29

With the cops failing to crack a single ATM (automated teller machine) theft this year and most banks loath to upgrade their security systems, the Punjab Police has written to the Reserve Bank of India to explore the possibility of installing ink spray equipment in ATMs.

The moment an ATM is tampered with, it will begin spraying ink on currency notes, making these unfit for use. The stained notes would then be easily detected as stolen ones.

The police has asked the RBI to direct all banks to install burglar alarms, sophisticated CCTVs and cameras, with one installed near the vend, and self-locking doors that can be opened only with an ATM card.

The police is worried over the high incidence of the crime with 29 ATM thefts having taken place till September this year and none of the culprits being caught. In case of attempted ATM thefts, the police succeeded in solving only 17 of the 61 such cases.

Most of these thefts took place in rural areas in the dead of the night, 50 per cent of these in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Tarn Taran districts.

Whereas a total of Rs 1.60 crore was lost in these thefts in 2015, last year the loss stood at Rs 3.85 crore of which Rs 1.81 lakh was recovered.

“The police can’t be blamed for this,” said IPS Sahota, Director Bureau of Investigation. “Banks were told time and again to upgrade security. Criminals have easy access to currency vends. They black out the cameras, which are within easy reach. Usually the bank security guards are unarmed or ill-trained to handle the situation.”

Sources said the police had, over the past few years, profiled gangs targeting ATMs. “We keep a watch on them. Whenever a gang is busted, dozens of cases are solved.”

Bank officials, who did not want to be quoted, said: “We try to follow all police instructions. They blame us for laxity, but it is the task of policemen on night patrol to keep a watch on criminals.”

Another bank manager pointed out that ATMs in rural areas were closed in the evening, as suggested by the police. But this measure had not proved to be any deterrent.

“The ATMs are insured. However, that doesn’t mean we do not do enough to protect the vends,” said another bank official.