Fix CCTVs in all police stations in Maharashtra within a month, Bombay High Court tells state government

Hearing a petition against custodial deaths, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted four weeks time to Maharashtra government to install CCTV cameras in all the police stations across the state.

A bench, headed by Justice VM Kanade, allowed another one-month time to the state government to comply with its August 13 order, asking the administration to put up CCTV cameras in all the police stations.
CCTV cameras should be installed in such a manner that the entire building of the police stations comes under surveillance, the court said.

The bench had ordered CCTV cameras in police stations after observing that Maharashtra accounted for as many as 23.48 per cent of the total custodial deaths in the country in the last 15 years. The HC is hearing two petitions regarding custodial deaths. One of them pertains to Wadala Railway Police. Both PILs seek a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The HC also directed that tapes of CCTV recording should be preserved for a minimum of one year. The senior police inspector or in-charge of the police station will be responsible for ensuring that CCTVs are operational, the judges said.