The State Bank of Pakistan on Monday directed banks and DFIs to provide data, or video footage, to the law enforcement agencies (LEAs), if asked for the probe into misuse of ATMs.
The SBP directive came after a case of a young man, Abdul Waheed's, abduction and subsequent killing came before the five-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan during the suo motu case hearing on Karachi violence, whose ATM card was continuously misused after his body was found stuffed in a sack, but the police failed to arrest the culprits.
Sources said that during the hearing of Karachi case, a 70-year-old woman, Surayya Begam, resident of Aram Bagh, stated in the court that her son Abdul Wheed was kidnapped on August 5 and later his body was recovered in a sack on August 6 from North Nazimabad.
However, the ATM card of Abdul Waheed was being used frequently and Rs 100,000 was drawn in four transactions after his killing. But the police failed to act with the help of cameras installed inside the ATM booths of the banks. On this, police told the court that the law enforcing departments had no access to the data or footages records of the banks, which hampered their investigation into the transactions.
The police said that it largely depended on the banks to attain such information required for investigation into bank heists or misuse of ATM cards, which it was often denied. It requested the SBP to ask all the banks to provide the needed data or video footages for the investigation purposes.
In view of this situation, the State Bank on Monday issued a circular, BPRD No 10, to the Presidents/Chief Executives of all banks/microfinance banks, asking them to provide footages in respect of ATMs. "During the hearing of the suo motu action regarding law and order situation in Karachi case by the larger bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Pakistan at Karachi on September 9, 2011, the Inspector General Police (IGP) has pointed out certain hurdles including delays in getting the required data and video footage with respect to the ATMs", the circular said.
"Therefore, all the Banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are hereby advised that in cases where the offenders have misused the ATM cards of their victims, they shall provide the data or Video footage in respect to ATMs, without delay, through a focal person upon provision of FIR from concerned investigating agency," the circular added.
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