ATMs most vulnerable to robbery in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: As a resident of Gurugram, if one feel concerned about the rising cases of robberies in the city, one will now find another reason to worry.

Daring attempts of robbing huge sums of money by uprooting ATMs and fleeing away with them has become the latest major challenge for law enforcement officials in the Millennium City.

One such brazen robbery was recently reported, when unidentified men carried out a heist at Lakshman Vihar, successfully stealing over Rs 24 lakh from a private bank ATM.

It later came to light that the ATM did not have any guard for over three months, a major lapse that was perfectly exploited.

Even footage from nearby CCTV camera were not helpful in identifying the culprits.

Learning from their many failed attempts, robbers have now began targeting ATM's.

Moreover, in addition to desolate locations, even ATMs in posh areas are falling prey to robbers. Reportedly, there are over 1,300 ATMs that are operational in the city.

Taking cognisance of this major law and order challenge, the Deputy Commissioner's office, earlier this year, had directed that all the ATM booths must install the CCTV cameras.

Another major challenge that seems to be plaguing the city is the rise in cases of cyber crime.

Many criminals, on the pretext of sale calls or service calls, are successfully extracting vital financial information from unsuspecting consumers, which is then exploited.

According to Gurugram police, various fake call centres and gangs are involved in this criminal act.

This year, the Cyber Crime Branch of Gurugram Police busted a fake call centre operating in Delhi.

Police officials, in various situations, have held discussion with various banks in the city, asking their management to be more wary in dispensing large amounts of cash.