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| Petition seeking CCTV cameras in Police Stations | | Policing the Police | | 46 out of 50 CCTV cameras installed in Jammu defunct
Sumit Sharma
JAMMU, Nov 21: To address repeated complaints of human rights violations by police on detenues, a Jammu based Human Rights activist, filed a petition with State Human Rights Commission seeking direction to the State Government to install Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in all police stations of the state.
In his petition, activist namely Deepak Sharma has averred that the police, who are entrusted with the task of maintaining law and order, usually take recourse of third degree methods during interrogation which sometimes even results in deaths. Further, the CCTVs shall help to keep a check on those erring police officers who refuse to register the complaints even in the most heinous offences like rapes .
The petition has been filed at a time when most of the existing CCTV cameras installed in Jammu have been defunct. If the police sources are to be believed, leaving apart other districts of state, there are 50 CCTV cameras installed in Jammu city at different locations, but ironically out of 50 only four have been working. Similarly 33 CCTV cameras installed in most sensitive place at Katra for surveillance are also defunct.
The PHQ meanwhile allotted fresh tender for repairs and AMC of CCTV system installed in Jammu City and Katra/Bhawan under order number 21 of 2013. Before, PHQ allotted the tender to the firm for the same purpose but due to non payment, the firm left it in lurch. The new tender for repair and maintenance work of CCTV allotted when Ajat Shatru Singh, MLC, questioned state Home Minister whether it is a fact that Government has installed traffic signals in Jammu and Srinagar ; Is it also a fact that these signals have been installed without CCTV cameras ; if so, when does it propose to install these cameras ?
Sources further said that already PHQ has lost crores of rupees in the name of installation of CCTV cameras. Earlier, PHQ allotted tender to the firm for installation of CCTV cameras in the state and after the installation, a survey committee headed by DIG Danish Rana pointed out certain discrepancies as the firm did not install the night vision device with the CCTV, as mentioned in the tender, but despite of refusal by the survey committee, the payment worth crores was released to the firm at the cost of public exchequer. The cameras later proved defunct. Later, it also came to notice of the PHQ that the firm which was allotted the tender was black listed in other states.
Meanwhile, It has been prayed in the petition that appropriate directions be issued to the respondent to install Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at all the police stations of the State with the idea of thereby providing adequate safeguards against the police atrocity or custodial violence and to 'policing the police'.
Sharma further states that because of the instances of harassment, torture and illegal detentions in police stations, there is unjust fear in the mind of common man who sometimes even avoid going to police stations to report any crime meted out to them and the faith can be re-imposed by adopting such people friendly measures.
Pertinently, there are 193 police stations in the state and the mechanism proposed by the activist helps to curb the human rights violations in Police Stations and moreover it would add to security of the Police Stations as well.
Whileas, it has been learnt that the SHRC is also all set to act upon the petition filed by the Deepak as the notice to the State Government regarding installation of the CCTV cameras has been dispatched directing the cameras to be installed in all police stations with latter and spirit. |
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