Face to face with fear

The gory incident, wherein a woman was attacked while withdrawing cash from an ATM in Bengaluru, may have happened sometime ago, but it remains fresh in one’s memory.

Though a number of CCTV cameras are installed in ATM kiosks and security guards are keeping a watchful eye at these kiosks, there is always the fear of a robbery or an attack. The lives of these security guards too are not without its own challenges.

Be it low pay, lack of benefits or the fear of being attacked at any time, the life of an ATM security guard is harder than one can imagine. The guards work in three shifts — from 6 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 10 pm and 10 pm to 6 am. Although a few work for more than the stipulated hours and earn an average salary of Rs 4000 to 8000 per month, they also face the risk of being attacked.

Yuvaraj, who guards an ATM kiosk in Shivajinagar Bus Stand, feels that ATMs should be located in strategic areas. “We have to be very cautious as most robbers are well-armed. We are only given a ‘lathi’ which is of no help. What is the point of a camera when there is nobody to monitor the footage? Our lives are always at risk. So the kiosks should be located in well-lit areas with a heavy flow of traffic. This way, we will at least be in the public eye all the time,” he says.  

Many guards feel that security measures to prevent thefts and protect them are the need of the hour. Ananth Raj guards an ATM on MG Road and in the five years that he has been working, he has had a bad experience once.

“Once a man entered the ATM wearing a helmet and covering his mouth with a handkerchief. When I asked him to remove the helmet, he refused. He placed his bag down and I saw that the bag was filled with iron rods. This really shocked me but I was unable to fight back as I didn’t want to be attacked. He had a duplicate card and didn’t know its password. He tried several times to find the right password but in vain. But he went away without harming me. At that time, I wished I could inform the police. These kind of incidents occur frequently but being alone in an ATM without anything to defend ourselves makes us feel helpless and vulnerable. Our lives are at risk and we can’t do anything about it. The authorities should at least give us a ‘walkie-talkie’ so that we can inform the police in case of an emergency. Also, the police should conduct night patrols near the ATMs. This will ensure the safety of  the citizens as well as security guards.” 
Another cause of concern is the age of the watchmen guarding ATMs. Some of the watchmen are above 60 years old and may not be able to react quickly in case of an emergency. Vijay Kumar, aged 55, is the only working member of the family. If the authorities stop him from working citing age as a barrier, his family will have to face bitter consequences. 

“At 55, for the economically weaker section like mine, this is an ideal job. Any watchmen guarding the ATM kiosks, irrespective of age, is under the same threat. We aren’t even provided any insurance. So if something happens to us, what will our families do? For the risk that we take, our pay is also low. If the authorities put certain safety measures in place like giving us the police helpline number or ensuring that all the ATMs are located in a busy area, it will make the job less risky,” he says.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Alok Kumar says that the police play a minimum role here as it’s the security agencies that need to put the safety measures in place. “The agencies should provide proper training to the guards and they should be given a decent salary. They should work for not more than six to eight hours.

However, most guards work for more than 12 to 18 hours and this affects the performance and efficiency. From our end, we conduct regular patrolling during the day and night. Sometimes, our night patrol teams often wake up the security guards sleeping outside ATMs. The agencies employing old people who are not fit for the job is a cause of concern.”