Fire breaks out inside ATM counter at Kalna

Fire broke out at an ATM counter at Kalna’s Baidyapur Bus stand early on Monday, though no one was reported injured.

Some passersby saw black smoke emanating from inside the ATM counter around 5.30 am.

A few of them ran to the nearest local police station and informed the personnel.

Police officers soon reached the spot to examine the situation and one of the officers said: “We saw that black smoke was coming out from the counter. The ATM had not been working from the night of November 8, after the demonetisation was announced. The shutters had been locked by the authorities.”

Soon, fire services were called to the spot. Fire fighters broke the lock of the shutter and doused 

the flames in a short span of time.

“We reached just in time. There could have been a blast inside the counter had we reached late,” said one of the firemen.

Meanwhile, police and the district administration are investigating whether there were any currency notes inside the machine.

“We are not ruling out sabotage. Some people may have conspired to set the ATM on fire,” said a 

police officer.

“Initially, it looked like the fire was caused by a short circuit. But, we suspect that the source of the fire could be malfunctioning of the AC. The AC was on and the security guard had pulled down the shutter without switching it off,” said the fire department personnel.

Moreover, the CCTV camera inside the counter was damaged. “It is difficult to initiate an investigation. But we have informed the bank about the entire incident,” said the police officer.