JOIN USSeveral private security guards in the City, manning ATM kiosks and other establishments, have been attacked and even laid down their lives on duty. All these deadly episodes had one factor in common: Most of the victims were unarmed and completely vulnerable.
Exactly 20 days before the brutal attack on Jyothi Uday at an ATM kiosk triggered outrage and subsequent corrective measures by the city police, an ATM guard Harishankar Sharma, 25 was killed by two assailants October 29. However, their attempt to loot the ATM was not successful. They were caught within a few hours.
In another case, 55-year-old Chandrappa, an unarmed guard at a Corporation bank ATM kiosk on Uttarahalli Main road was brutally killed. He had resisted a culprit who tried to forcibly take away cash from the ATM kiosk on September 29, 2011. The police were able to track down the killer within a few hours.
But there are also many incidents in the City to prove that private security guards could also be double-edged swords. This is illustrated by an episode that shook the city on October 10, 2009. On that day, Mohan Raj, a security guard at a Bank of India ATM kiosk in R T Nagar was found murdered in his work area. The scene also told the story of a failed attempt to rob the ATM money. Investigations led the police to Gyanendar, 20, who was also a security guard working with the same security agency Clear Guard Security Services.
It was found that Gyanendar, who was posted at another ATM kiosk, had turned rogue, killed Mohan Raj slitting his throat and tried to rob the ATM money unsuccessfully. He was later arrested.
A senior city police official says for every murder of a security guard, there are two cases where the guards have turned rogue. According to him, in many ATM robberies, the security guards themselves have had a role to play. The most sensational case was the attack on ATM money vans in R T Nagar and robbery of Rs 1.91 crores, reported on May 14, 2012. As the official put it, an insider’s hand was suspected from day one. Eventually, it was established that he had helped a gang of 13 to carry out the robbery.
Two security guards of Windmill apartments, Mahadevapura allegedly assaulted and killed an advocate living in the apartment complex – Amardeep Kainth early this year. Two guards hailing from Assam - Roopam Bora, 24 and his associate, Sanjay Hazarika, 21 were arrested in February from their hometown. The two guards had killed him for gain and made away with just Rs 1,100 and a few debit cards.
In another sensational case, S Anasuya, 42, a resident of Polo Garden apartment complex in Sheshadripuram, a bank cashier, was stabbed to death in the lift of the complex on 08 October, 2011. The assailant was security guard, Ashraf who also acted as the lift operator.
Though the case has been an open and shut case, the city police are yet to nab him. Since most security guards in the City are from the Northeast States and Nepal, it gets tough for the police to track down the offenders. As the senior official explains, men who turned rogue flee to their distant hometowns or even cross the border into Nepal. The agencies who hire them are also at a loss to provide the exact address.