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Mumbai: Non-release of funds hinder CCTV plan in police stations

As per the high court order, the cameras need to be installed in police stations in such a way that areas like corridors and lock-ups are covered and these do not fall under the category of 'public places'.

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Policeman looking at CCTV footage (Representational Image)
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A year after the Bombay High Court directed the home department to install CCTVs in police stations to prevent custodial death, the issue is still stuck in basic technicalities. One of the issues is that under which head will the funds be released for the job.

Sources say that the department has funds to install CCTVs under the head 'installation of CCTVs at public places'. As per the high court order, the cameras need to be installed in police stations in such a way that areas like corridors and lock-ups are covered and these do not fall under the category of 'public places'. "The department is in the process of sorting it out. It has been decided that we will remove the term 'public places' from the budget head to include police stations. Once this is done, we can issue directions to the DG office to start the tendering process and execute the job," said a senior officer from the home department. Sources said the department is likely to issue a government resolution (GR) soon to resolve this issue.

Sources also informed that 25 police stations, one in each district, has already been shortlisted for the job. Besides fund, the department is yet to decide the locations in police stations in which these cameras will be installed. "The high court has given an outline but we need to specify exact spots where these cameras should be placed to meet the court demand," said a senior officer.

In August 2014, observing that the rising number of custodial deaths in Maharashtra was "alarming", the high court had directed the state government to install CCTV cameras in police stations and ensure that FIRs are registered if an accused dies in custody.

As per the court, the "responsibility of safety, health and well-being of a person who is arrested will be on the officer who arrested him, the investigation officer and the station-in-charge". The court said CCTV data would be preserved for a year and the senior inspector of a police station would be responsible for ensuring that the cameras are operational. There are 93 police stations in Mumbai alone. However, after its August order, the HC on several occasions sent reminders and sought compliance reports from the state government, which has been moving at a snail's pace on the said subject.

In January, acting on the orders of the HC, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria also issued a strict order to senior inspectors, asking for CCTV cameras to be installed in every room, lock-up and corridor of every police station in the city at the earliest. He has also asked for the footage to be preserved for at least a year. However, the police stations which are bombarded with the order to do so are yet to be given funds to carry out the installation.

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