A Central Bank of India ATM security guard was hacked to death by unidentified men while on duty in Patna on Friday night, Hindustan Times reported. Police said the victim, Dipak Kumar, was on night duty inside the Mauryalok shopping complex near the Kotwali police station. Deputy Superintendent of police (law and order) Shibli Nomani said the ATM was damaged, but that the culprits had not managed to break it open.
Kumar’s son, Amar, said he found his father’s body inside the shut ATM kiosk when he went to check on him at 5 am, as he had not returned home. Nomani said, “We have lodged a First Information Report and formed a special team to track down the accused. The police have recovered the CCTV footage and are analysing it to ascertain the identity of the attackers,” the English daily reported.
Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaaj said personal enmity could also have been a motive for the crime. Locals staged a protest near the Kotwali police station and shouted slogans against the administration. They demanded the arrest of the culprits and compensation for the victim’s family.
Kotwali police station house office Avinash Kumar has been removed from his post on charges of dereliction of duty.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation drive on November 8. Since then several reports of robberies and attacks at ATMs across the country have surfaced.
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