Government to approach RBI to prepare security plans of banks, ATMs

New Delhi: With an aim to ensure security at city's banks and ATMs, Delhi government has decided to approach Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and private security agencies to prepare a blueprint of security plans for them. The government's move comes after a spate of incidents in which ATMs and cash-carrying vans were recently targeted byarmed robbers in the national capital.

"We are very concerned over the increasing cases of robbery incidents at city's banks and ATMs. In view of such incidents, we have decided to approach RBI and private security agencies to prepare a blueprint of foolproof security arrangements at banks and ATMs so that such cases are not  reported," G P Singh, special secretary of Delhi Home Department, said.

Government will soon call a meeting of RBI officials and representatives of private security agencies who would discuss existing security preparedness. "In this meeting, we will gather information on which security agencies are providing numbers of security guards at banks and ATMs," he said. There are 571 licensed security agencies across the national capital. The official said that government is also considering to send all security guards under training programme so that they will be able to give a tough fight to armed assailants during robbery attempts.        

"We have plans to organise a training programme for private security guards in order to prepare them for tackling armed assailants during robbery attempt," he added. Government will also ask security agencies to provide numbers of guards employed with them to it.        

On November 29, two motorcycle-borne men had allegedly shot dead security guard of a cash van and looted Rs 1.5 crore cash outside an ATM in North Delhi'a Kamla Nagar area here. Unidentified robbers on November 24 uprooted an entire ATM machine loaded with nearly Rs 7 lakh and decamped with it from outer Delhi's Narela area.