The Madras High Court Bench here on Friday ordered notice to the Union finance Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry, the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Principal Secretary of the Home department and the Director-General of Police on a public interest litigation seeking deployment of security guards, below 45 years, to guard ATM centres.
The petitioner, C. Anand Raj, a Madurai-based social activist, claimed in his petition that most of the security guards in the ATM kiosks were above 60 years. This put the guards at risk of being attacked and killed by burglars, he added.
He pleaded that the Union and the State governments should be directed to instruct the banks to install CCTV cameras connected to the nearest police stations and burglar alarms in all ATM centres.
Citing the recent incident, where a woman was brutally attacked by a burglar in Bengaluru, the petitioner contended that enhancing security in ATMs was the need of the hour to protect the innocent public. He recalled in his petition that in April an elderly ATM guard was killed by burglars, near Vadipatti in Madurai, in their attempt to break open the ATM. The elderly security guards may not be able to protect innocent customers.
