A heist which comes as a rude reminder

A couple of days ago, a daring heist, if one may dub it that, took place in the heart of Bengaluru near the famed Lalbagh Botanical Garden, with the robbers fleeing with an astronomical amount of more than Rs 7 crore. The money was being carried in a cash van to fill the many ATMs in the city; the Bengaluru cops, much to the relief of citizens, have subsequently made a number of arrests and also seized more than Rs 6 crore of the stolen amount though a significant part remains to be recovered.

What does this sordid incident say about the safety of citizens, financial institutions and cash and valuables in Bengaluru, considered one of the wealthier urban spaces in the country with a huge population of tech professionals? Theories are doing the rounds on insider involvement and even the dubious role of a cop in the theft but one thing has become clearer than daylight: There is an urgent need to augment security and surveillance measures in the city which sees a huge movement of VIPs, people and valuables including cash 24|7.

There is no doubt that the Bengaluru cops deserve all credit for cracking the case within a short span of 48 hours and recovering the major part of the cash haul. But then, such incidents do cast a long shadow on the reputation of the IT City as safe and secure enough for all.

It is all the more ironic that the incident happened in a cash van, considered secure, with the miscreants reportedly duping the staffers claiming that they were on an inspection of ‘papers.’ Safety has to become a top priority for administrators, politicians, security agencies and those manning them for if anything happens in the IT hub of the country, it grabs eyeballs worldwide.

The city goes to sleep by midnight and no place can be considered safe after that for there are few cops on the roads except for the occasional Hoysala patrol vehicle. Ironically, this is happening in a cosmopolitan hub which hardly sleeps with thousands of techies working tirelessly through the night, serving overseas clientele and then hopping into vehicles to carry them home in the early hours of the morning.

Bengaluru obviously needs a much improved hi tech police force and quick response teams which can respond to challenging situations like digital and cybercrimes and sophistically crafted scams in a much more effective manner.

It needs specialized teams which can keep a watch on cash deliveries, suspicious networks, financial institutions and vehicular movement so that a clampdown is possible swiftly in case something untoward happens. A tough message needs to be sent across to all those who assume that they can take advantage of any lacunae existing in the security apparatus and get away with their criminal activities easily.

Women’s safety too is of paramount importance and in this case too, only an unambiguous message that any lapse on anyone’s part will invite merciless action, will keep such elements in check. Fear is the key and it is only when those harboring criminal thoughts, are effectively deterred by the fear that they will not be able to get away with their acts, that Namma Bengaluru will become safe enough for all.