Kolkata Police have failed to identify culprits behind failed robbery attempts in the city (File)
Incidents of attackers wearing face masks, attempting to break open bank ATMs, have posed a new challenge for the city police trying to find a way out to keep a check on such crimes, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.
The police are having a "tough time" identifying culprits ever since masks have been made mandatory to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, the officer said.
"Employing guards will not be enough to prevent such incidents. Alarm system needs to be strengthened in such a way that once an attempt is made to break open an ATM, the nearby police station is alerted to respond in quick time. This can be done for the time being to counter such crimes and then we need to put in place some other plans," the officer said.
Kolkata Police had recently organised an online meeting with bank officials after there were abortive attempts of ATM break-ins reported from parts of the city.
The police has till now failed to identify the culprits responsible for the failed robbery attempts.
There has been a sharp dip in the number of crimes since lockdown was announced on March 25 but once the norms were relaxed as a part of the Unlock 1, the rate of crime has started increasing, he said.