This framework is part of the Rs 949-crore Mumbai CCTV surveillance project floated after the 26/11 terror attacks, wherein a network of 4,717 cameras has been installed at 1,510 sensitive locations.
The city's lifeline may become more secure from this month with the Mumbai Police tapping into the video feeds of CCTV cameras installed across the suburban Railway network. This will ensure a co-ordinated response by security agencies during emergencies and enable better monitoring in times like festivals when the system sees huge footfalls.
This framework is part of the Rs 949-crore Mumbai CCTV surveillance project floated after the 26/11 terror attacks, wherein a network of 4,717 cameras has been installed at 1,510 sensitive locations. Under the collaborative surveillance project, the state wants to tap into the video feeds of 102 high-value targets like malls, five-star hotels, shops, banks and Railway stations, to improve surveillance, enable a faster response through real-time streaming, and enhance the level of protection for these institutions.
Mumbai's Railway network has been a target of terrorist attacks in 2003 and 2006, and during the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008, Pakistani terrorists opened fire at the CST station.
"We are planning to ensure that the Mumbai police can tap into the Railway's CCTV network during emergencies. This is part of the collaborative surveillance project wherein 102 sensitive private and public establishments will share their feeds with the police," a senior home department official told DNA. The feeds will be accessed based on requirements and worst-case scenarios and after the consent is secured from these establishments. The official said this would help secure the Railways, which is particularly vulnerable.
"Once an incident happens, the system integration will ensure immediate action and a common response," said a source, adding that they planned to complete the "technical handshake" with the Railways in June. He added that so far, 50 of the 102 establishments had consented to the arrangement.
"From this month, we will integrate all the cameras on railway stations in Mumbai with the Mumbai Police command and control centre. We will check the footage as and when required. For instance, if there is any major incident, then we will also sift through the footage of the railway cameras for leads," said a senior officer from Mumbai Police.
According to officials, 1,063 CCTVs have already installed and another 1,701 will be installed on the Western Railway stations in Mumbai, while on the Central Railway, the number of installed cameras is 2,914.
Crimes on the Railway network:
March 2003: 10 killed in an explosion in a first-class compartment at Mulund
July 2006: Seven blasts in peak hour kill 189, alleged SIMI sympathisers arrested by state ATS
August 2012: Rioters travel from the suburbs to reach Azad Maidan, later riot in vicinity and assault police while damaging Rs 2.75 crore worth property. A total of 63 persons arrested.
May 2013: Delhi resident Priti Rathi attacked with acid after alighting from the Garib Rath train at Bandra Terminus. Mumbai Crime Branch later arrested her neighbor Ankur Panwar (23).
January 2014: Techie Esther Anuhya who had alighted at Kurla Terminus was allegedly raped by Chandrabhan Sanap who promised to drop her home on concessional charges. He was arrested later by the Mumbai crime branch.
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