4 yrs since Jyoti attack, many ATMs still have no guards

BENGALURU: Exactly four years after the infamous ‘ATM attack’ on 36-year-old Jyothi Uday near BBMP headquarters, it appears that Bengaluru still has not learnt its lesson from the ordeal. Despite a 2013 ruling by the state government that every ATM should have a security guard, a reality check revealed that many kiosks across the city still do not have guards.

Even at night, when it is perhaps most essential for security personnel to be present, there appears to be no guard in sight in many parts of the city as a recce by DC in Madiwala, Kothanur, Electronics City and Marathahalli revealed.

“There are around six ATMs within a 1 km radius here and just one of these has a guard at night,” says Maya Sreenivasan, a resident of Madiwala. “I am scared to go to an ATM at night and I do so only when there is an emergency,” she said. Maya is not alone. Many netizens have also taken to social media to voice their concern over the issue. “How long are we going to take this lightly? Is the state government waiting for more attacks on gullible people who use ATMs, and another ‘machete attack’ to take this seriously,” tweeted Noel Fernandes, a resident of K. Narayanapura.

Though no major incidents have been reported since the gruesome attack on Jyothi Uday in 2013, fear still lingers among Bengalureans.