TV
While the alleged custodial torture of the Army Major and his fiancée at Bharatpur Police Station in Bhubaneswar on September 15 has grabbed the headlines across the country, the infra lapses at modernized police stations, constructed with crores of rupees, has come to the fore as well.
As per sources, the investigation into the incident is not making much headway due to the unavailability of footages in the absence of CCTV cameras at the police station. While hearing the matter a couple of days back, the Orissa High Court expressed dissatisfaction and rued the fact that the police station didn’t have mandatory CCTV cameras despite the order of the Supreme Court.
Considering the importance of the situation, the Orissa High Court has ordered the police ADG to submit a report about the status of the installation of CCTV cameras in all the police stations and outposts across the State by October 8. The Court has also ordered to mention about the places at police stations where CCTV cameras have been installed.
“The honourable Court has clearly ordered to submit a report about all the facilities available in the police stations across the State as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court,” said Lawyer Bibhuti Bhushan Choudhury.
In a bid to have transparency in the investigation process, the Apex Court of India ordered for mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in all the police stations across the country in 2022-2023. However, despite frequent orders by the highest court of the country, CCTV cameras are yet to be installed in many police stations of Odisha.
Take the case of Kalampur Police Station in Kalahandi district. Though it was converted from an outpost to a police station in January 2023, CCTV cameras are yet to be installed here. Similar instances have been reported from Tihidi and Pirhat police stations in the Bhadrak district and Ghantapada Police Station in the Boudh district.
“Many outposts in Chandbali don’t have CCTV cameras. Hence, no information can be made available about the crime occurring inside,” rued Prafulla Das, a resident of Chandbali.
Earlier in the last session of the Odisha Assembly, in a written reply to a question from BJD MLA Souvik Biswal, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi had informed the House that CCTV cameras have been installed in all the police stations across the State. However, the government has recently informed the High Court that as many as 91 police stations across the State don’t have CCTV cameras.
Questions are now being raised about the officials who misled the Chief Minister to provide wrong information in the State Assembly three weeks ago. Was there a conspiracy behind it or the Chief Minister was provided the wrong information by some officials to avoid action? Politics has intensified over the incident.
“It was mandatory to install CCTV cameras inside all the police stations. The government has recently submitted a report that CCTV cameras have not been installed in some police stations across the State. Now, it is to be investigated whether CCTV cameras have not yet been installed in those police stations or those cameras have developed malfunctioning,” said BJD MLA Sarada Jena.
In response, BJP spokesperson Dilip Mallick said, “File has been prepared by the previous government which states that CCTV cameras have been installed in all police stations across the State. However, many police stations have not yet been provided with the facilities. As it has been mentioned in the file, the officials have provided the wrong information.”
