Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
“The Ashulia incident is the reflection of the aggravated law and order situation in the country,” former Finance Adviser of the Caretaker Government Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam told The New Nation on Wednesday.
He added, “It also exposed vulnerability of the security system in the bank and life of the people.”
Voicing deep concern over the country’s law and order situation, he said, series of untoward incidents including killing are happening across the country along with the spurt in crime rate. “Such incident has created panic among the people but no concrete measure has yet been taken to improve the situation,” he added.
He further said, the Ashulia bank robbery incident is also indicating poor security system in the banking sector. Banks are yet to install modern security system in their branches and that is why such incidents are taking place time and again. They should immediately review their security system considering the demand of time.
He also mentioned that banks are expanding their branches in the remote areas which are not easy accessing. Even they are opening their branches in a location which is vulnerable from the security point of view.
Echoing the similar views, former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed said that the incident is a glaring example of the deteriorating law and order situation in the country as well as security lapses in the banking system. He said that incident of bank robbery and heists are taking place time and again due mainly to lack of overall safety measures in any bank branch.
“Most of the bank branches have been opened without assessing their safety, location, building and installing proper alerts system. Such elements are responsible for the incidents of robbery and heists cases,” he noted.
He, however, said that a particular bank cannot ensure foolproof security at its branches with its own initiative. A concerted effort of all concerned is must to ensure safety and security in the banks. The central bank has provided a guide line over the security system in banks. But banks are reluctant to follow the guideline leading to such incident. The central bank should play more proactive role for enforce the guideline in each bank.
