Banks in Bhagalpur may make ID cards, passbooks must for entry

BHAGALPUR: Taking serious note of recent incidents of bank dacoities and inadequate security arrangements in most of the banks, the Bhagalpur district administration has asked the officials of different banks to initiate measure for safety of banks and their customers.
Bhagalpur DM Birendra Prasad Yadav, presiding over a high-level meeting with other officials including SSP Vivek Kumar and officials of different banks in the district, asked the banks to take measures towards banks' security by June 21.The bank branches found lax in implementing the measure will be asked to pull their shutters till security measures are in place, said sources.
Some of the security measures, which have been advocated for at the meeting held on Tuesday, are installation of burglars' alarm, CCTV cameras, fire-fighting equipment, adequate number of security guards besides other measures as per standard rules and norms of security on the bank premises. It was also decided at the meeting to allow only legitimate customers of the bank, who possess EPIC or bank account passbook with them to enter the bank. Those who are not customers of the particular bank will also have to show EPIC to the security guard at the entrance. Banks have been asked to impart suitable training to their personnel including security guards with regard to steps to ward off any crime incident inside the bank and for swift response mechanism in case of any incident.
Bank management will be held equally responsible for any crime on the bank premises in the event of lax security arrangements and suitable action will be taken against the bank personnel. All the 28 different banks having 216 branches in Bhagalpur and others located across the district have been brought under the ambit of standard security measures to be undertaken by the banks.
It may be mentioned here that a daring dacoity took place at the main branch of Bihar Gramin Bank located at busy Ghanta Ghar Chowk in Masakchak Mohalla in broad daylight on May 26, 2015. The armed criminals had looted Rs 50 lakh from the cash counter of the bank in cinema style. It was followed by another bank dacoity on June 11 at Sanhoula Branch (Kahalgaon sub-division) of Bihar Gramin Bank in which Rs 11 lakh was looted by the dacoits.
Bhagalpur DM Yadav said it has come to light that security arrangements at more than 40% branches are slipshod while rest of the branches do not strictly follow the standard measures for security inside the branch premises. The banks have to reinforce security measures, said the DM adding bank personnel too have to change their functioning to prevent any crime. "We will take action against the management of banks if they fail to adhere to security norms," the DM added.
SSP Vivek Kumar said there are many flaws in security arrangements of banks. Banks should depute security personnel at the entrance and inside the bank to tackle any eventuality besides keeping an eye on the suspicious people inside the branches, he said and added poor visibility of photographs captured by CCTV cameras have also come to the notice of the police. The banks should install good quality CCTVs, the SSP said and added the SHOs of respective police stations too have been asked to maintain surveillance in the areas where banks are located.