Siliguri cops bust Haryana gang of bank, ATM thieves- Police say tracking outsiders' movement in town a tough task

SANKHA GHOSH, SNS, SILIGURI. 28 JANUARY 21 : The Siliguri Metropolitan Police (SMP) has arrested two miscreants of a Haryana - based gang that had allegedly been involved in breaking into banks and ATM kiosks in Siliguri this month.

Such incidents in the town had raised security concerns among the people.

The accused, identified as Praveen Kumar, 30, and Rahul Kumar, 25, were arrested hours after their unsuccessful attempts at an ATM counter in Siliguri in the wee hours on 25 January.

Police officers said Praveen had been associated with the Jat Regiment of the Indian Army and had been absconding for over a year. Rahul had been staying in Siliguri for a long time.

According to the police, investigations revealed that the duo had been involved in attacking a security guard, Sabirul Haq, at an e-Corner of the State Bank of India's (SBI) Court More branch at Bagha Jatin Park in the wee hours of 12 January.

The miscreants, however, could not get into the iron vault. The same gang had unsuccessfully raided the Siliguri branch of Canara Bank at Panitanki More on 18 January They had barged into the bank, but failed to break the vault.They were finally arrested after they allegedly tried to cut the metal body at an SBI ATM kiosk at Desh Bandhu Para.

"The SMP has busted a Haryana-based gang, which was found to he involved in attempts of lootingat least one bank and two ATM kiosks in Siliguri this month. Praveen Kumar had been associated with the Jat Regiment and had remained absconding. He had earlier been arrested in Gurgaon in June. Cash amounting to Rs 1 lakh and some equipment were recovered from them," Siliguri police commissioner D P Singh said today.

According to police officers, the SMP and the Special Task Force had earlier received intelligence inputs that such Haryana-based gangs were active in Siliguri. Two persons had been arrested recently in a separate case.

Meanwhile, police said that it was difficult for them to keep track of outsiders entering Siliguri with ill motives, given the location of the town, which falls close to other states.They also said that the CCTV cameras installed at various locations under the SMP are not enough for proper surveillance.

"Siliguri is located close to Bihar, and there has been movement of people here from neighbouring states. It is difficult to monitor who all are staying here. We conduct regular checks at hotels and lodges, but it is not an easy job to examine each and every facility every day" Mr Singh said today.

Sources said there were around 275 hotels and lodges spread across the SMP area.

"Of these, at least 230 facilities have installed software in computers and they upload the details of the boarders, including their latest photos to the police on a real time basis," said a hotelier.

"Siliguri is an important town as it connects some parts of north Bengal and the entire Northeast with the rest of India. Thousands of people from outside visit the town daily.The security of the town always remains a priority to the police," said a senior police officer.

The Siliguri Corridor, which is also known as the 'Chiken's Neck', has big importance in the security point of view.

"The CCTV cameras play an important role in surveillance. There are around 250 cameras, but there is need for at least 3,000 more. We have appealed to different organisations, traders' bodies to come forward for the installation of the cameras," Mr Singh said.