Govt to go for special force for bank security

Patna: The Bihar government will constitute a specialized armed force on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide round-the-clock security in banks and other industrial and financial institutions across the state.
Addressing the 56th meeting of State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) as chief guest here, CM Nitish Kumar said the state government would soon take a formal decision to constitute State Industrial Security Force (SISF) to provide specialized forces to the banks and other institutions."The entire process - from paperwork to raising battalions - will take at least three years," he said.
Assuring the bankers that Bihar police was on the task of solving the cases of bank robberies, the CM said only six cases of bank loot were reported in the state in 2016. Police arrested altogether 18 persons and also recovered Rs 58.34 lakh of looted cash in the six cases. Ten illegal arms used in the crime were also recovered.
Zonal or regional heads of all nationalized, rural and private banks were present at the meeting.
The CM also advised the bankers to conduct a security audit of their bank branches and take necessary precautions as per the audit findings.
Referring to a recent incident of loot in Muzaffarpur-based Gobarsahi branch of the State Bank of India, the CM said the dacoits had disconnected the CCTV camera and also took away the hard disc of the computer. "Did you ever think of keeping the hard disc at a safe place in the branch? ... The criminals might have observed earlier where your CCTV control room is and where is the hard disc," Nitish said, asking bankers to "be more serious about your security arrangements and alertness."
Nitish also pointed out that the guard of the SBI's Gobarsahi branch was not present in the bank at the time of dacoity. He also advised the bankers to verify the antecedents of guards before employing them. The bankers should also follow the protocol for carrying money from one place to another, he said.