It has become common for media to run a reality check after some major crime takes place. If there is a bomb blast, all the vulnerable points like bus terminals, railway stations and government establishments become targets the very next day — not for terrorists, but for media to run reality checks and thereby expose potential strike spots to the world.
The attack on a woman in an ATM on Tuesday was no different. Once the CCTV visuals went viral, there was a media frenzy all over again and reality checks were the order of the day. Many questions were raised about how the situation could have been averted, had a security guard been stationed at the ATM.
However, a security guard was brutally hacked to death when he tried to avert an ATM robbery attempt in Mahadevapura in October. This raises a greater question about how a security guard without any arms or proper training prevent such incidents.
Meet Rama (name changed), a 74-year-old security guard who mans an ATM in the city. Unlike his contemporaries, he is armed, albeit with a broom as he has taken it upon himself to keep the ATM premises clean.
When asked about why he has to go out of his way to do more than what he is expected to as a security guard, his unassuming reply is: “This bank pays me so that some problems of my family is taken care off. I try to keep the premises clean so that I have some sense of relief that I am of help to the organisation that has hired me.”
When asked if he was aware of the ATM attack on Tuesday, he said he was aware of it and also of other such incidents. What will he do if there is a similar attempt in the kiosk that he is manning? “I will give my hundred percent to prevent it from happening,” Rama said.
He added that police should train security guards on how to react during such emergencies and install devices that can alert them immediately.
“This will be more effective than looking for stronger or gun wielding security guards,” he said.
Only some basic training and guidance on how to react in case of emergencies will have a greater impact in curbing such hair-raising incidents rather than a knee-jerk reaction. Motivation and better guidance to security guards can be a better arm than guns and rifles.
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