Bengaluru: The van that Dominic Selvaraj drove away does not have a GPS system. “This will make it all the more difficut to track it,” said the police
While there are several recommendations and directives for security measures to be implemented by cash handling logistics companies, there are no rules in place to ensure that vehicles carrying cash can be easily traced in the event of a theft.
After the infamous robbery of an ATM in R.T. Nagar a few years ago, the city police had issued a directive to cash logistics firms to upgrade security measures. These directions included the deputation of trained armed guards, use of a custom-built bulletproof vehicle, fixing alarms and GPS systems. The measures also included background verification of drivers and staff, as well as regular monitoring and changing of the routes taken.
These rules are also the standard in the industry, according to insiders who said that most companies had an internal set of rules and also largely followed security measures suggested by the Cash Logistics Association of India (CLAI) and the Indian Banks Association.
Security measures also depend on the amount of cash being ferried as well as the location of the cash. For example, measures might be different for a city like Bengaluru as compared to a naxal affected area.
However, they are not followed by all companies, according to the police. For example, the vehicle involved in the Wednesday incident did not have a GPS tracking device.
According to Rituraj Sinha, president of Cash Logistics Association of India, there are broad guidelines in place for a business which ensure that such incidents are few and far apart.
“In the past 14-15 days, we have seen unprecedented movement of cash, possibly the largest in the history of the country. There are security protocols in place, which are implemented by every company internally. Most of them also follow the recommendations made by CLAI and the Indian Banks Association,” he said. However, he refused to comment on Wednesday's incident.
