Murder at ATM kiosk in Chennai
The murder of an unarmed security guard at an ATM kiosk in Chennai a week ago has raised issues of security. The guard, K Ravi, was stabbed to death at the kiosk at Ezhilagam on the beach road in the wee hours of Sunday.  The city police arrested a Naga youth within hours.
According to police, the youth working at a BPO office, desperately wanted money to go home and found to his dismay that there was not sufficient balance in his account. As he was struggling with the machine, the guard suspected foul play and entered into an altercation.
Police say the youth whipped out a knife and stabbed the guard to death. It is not clear why the youth, who was no hacker, was carrying a knife.
  Following the incident, City Police Commissioner Nanjil K Kumaran has asked banks to install cameras in ATM kiosks to monitor the movement of users.
Many bankers say though data may be recorded digitally, the guard should keep a record of customers. Private security agencies,  to whom security is outsourced, say banks should provide the guards with at least air guns which can only injure and not kill suspected offenders.
Another suggestion is employment of two guards to work in shifts as ATMs are open round the clock. They also suggest an emergency switch at each ATM connected to the nearest police station to be used.
In the wake of this incident, the city police has issued a series of instructions on how to ensure safety in ATMs. They say customers must see that no one else enters the booth when they are using the ATM. They should collect their money, count it and keep it safe before coming out of the booth. The customers should also log out in the right sequence and collect their card. Another advice is “do not use ATMs in lonely places, especially at nights”.
S Murari, Chennai
 
Bull chase
Tracking down thieves and criminals, taking on drug peddlers or "protecting" ministers is just the bright side of a policeman's job in Goa these days.
Ticked off for doing little to stop a bullfight in Agacaim village, South Goa last week, police squads were sent out to round up fighter bulls after the matter figured in the courts. Four bulls and their owners were detained over Monday and Tuesday around Goa to stop organised bullfights in the villages under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.
 For cops at the Panjim town police, chasing the bulls was hardly the end of the matter. Confronted with the problem of having to share the police station with two snorting, fighter bulls, the town police inspector quickly returned the bulls to their owners with a stern warning. Bullfights, or ‘dhirios’, where two bulls lock horns in a no holds barred clash, have been a long-standing tradition in Goa. Bulls are specially nurtured and groomed by their owners for ‘dhirios’ held in dusty paddy fields.
 Bullfighting was banned in Goa a few years ago after animal rights activists took the issue to the courts. With political patronage, the occasional bullfight still takes place in villages, specially around the time of a church feast. At Agacaim last week, an outnumbered police squad looked on helplessly as villagers and bullfight enthusiasts goaded on the bulls, cheered and bet on the outcome of the fight. One of the bulls was gored and badly injured.
Devika Sequeira, Panaji