Jaipur: As head cashier Narendra Singh Shekhawat(49) fights for his life following a brave stand against two armed robbers at Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Friday, concerns regarding the spotty security measures within leading banks have come under intense scrutiny.
The officials mentioned that the city police are now preparing a dossier detailing the vulnerabilities that many bank branches are exposed to. This dossier will be shared with both the state government and the consortium of banks.
A senior police official informed TOI that in over half a dozen meetings between the police and bank officials in three years, the issue of lack of security guards at branches, old and dilapidated alarm systems, and lack of vigilance was consistently flagged by them.
So much so, that even members of the bank employees union, who came to meet Shekhawat at a private hospital on Sikar Road, confided with TOI on Friday that numerous letters have been sent to the higher echelons of the banks to step up security measures, otherwise it would continue to risk the lives of employees.
The police said that there has been a proliferation of bank branches for commercial interests in newly developing residential areas and markets, but security concerns have been overlooked.
“The banks have already outsourced the task of moving cash from one place to another to security management firms; the same task can also be handed over to them,” said the official.
Sources said that banks often overlook security concerns at small branches, calculating that these branches do not qualify for heightened security measures. However, even some important branches located at the commercial hubs of the city also have many vulnerabilities, according to the official. The official also noted that in many places, the operational CCTVs do not have high-resolution quality, and alarm systems do not function properly.
