Probe sought into Laipuli SBI ATM kiosk incident

Our Correspondent

TINSUKIA, June 19: With organizations demanding high-level inquiry into the alleged shredding of currency note by mice inside the SBI ATM kiosk at Laipuli Tinsukia, mystery shrouds the role of FIS: Global Business Solutions which runs the ATM even as there existed some lapses on the part of SBI functionaries. Many, while expressing doubts over the entire episode, said that involvement of third party could not be ruled out.

The FIS: Global Business Solutions deposited Rs 29.48 lakh inside the ATM kiosk bearing number DFBK-000196116 located at Laipuli in the outskirts of Tinsukia on May 19 and on May 20, the machine developed technical snag and went out of order. On June 11 when the staff of FIS opened the machine they detected currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 denominations worth Rs 12,38,000 shredded to pieces allegedly by mice, an incident extremely rare never reported in any of the ATMs in India.

Though FIS could not be contacted for its views, the SBI officials said as the ATM in question was being run and maintained by an outsourcing agency, the SBI’s primary job was only to provide currency. The CCTV footage is likely to shed some vital clues but when asked, an official said they did not keep any record. What intrigued many is that the SBI usually rectifies the defects in ATM within 24 hours and withdraws the money after three days if it fails to make the ATM functional. In the Laipuli case, the FIS: Global Business Solutions took nearly a month to open the kiosk reporting intermittently to the SBI about its failure citing various pleas. The SBI ought to have asked the FIS to surrender the money as per norms. There also existed discrepancies about the photos circulated on social media on destroyed notes doubting the very the existence of mice. A few mice cannot chew away Rs 12 lakh over a month! A police source said it was just impossible for a mouse to cross over into different rakes even as mouse had entered inside the currency selves through a tiny hole of cables, doubting some foul play by a third party. The Tinsukia District Journalists’ Association (TDJA), while expressing serious concern, demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident. Anuj Kalita, president of TDJA, said as this involved sheer wastage of good quantum of public money and an investigating agency should unearth the real truth.