Anantapur: Delay in probe into fake currency

She withdrew Rs 2,000 from an ATM of State Bank of India located near Judge Quarters in Ramanagar here and noticed a fake Rs 100 note. The trainee collector informed the two town police and also lodged a complaint.

Anantapur two town police registered a case, but there was no progress reported and prolonged delay over the complaint. The two town police reportedly registered cases against the AGS agency that was maintaining the ATMs of SBI in Anantapur.

The 2013 batch trainee collector Ms Vijaya Krishna had also successfully completed training period and posted as deputy collector at Rajahmundry. However, the case had reportedly no progress. Sources said the case was registered against the agency soon after complaint by the official who wanted to curb circulation of fake notes through ATMs.

Sources said, police team had suspected the role of any of five custodians including gunman, contractor and driver and those responsible for inserting currency at the ATMs. While there was no chance to get a fake note from main branch of SBI, the agency employees were reportedly circulating it through ATMs.

Further the SBI had also allegedly failed to initiate action for proper safety measures. In the recent visit by CGM, the authorities had simply put the blame on workers of agencies who maintain the ATMs.

An average of Rs 10 crore cash is given to agencies for ATMs in each district every day. At least 40 ATMs of SBI are maintained by private agencies in Anantapur alone.