BENGALURU: Apartments in Bengaluru are at sea over the notices being served to them by Bangalore City Police. Police stations are handing out notices to apartments with more than 100 residents asking them to install CCTV cameras, door frame metal detectors and luggage scanners to better safety measures. Residents are unhappy that they might have to incur additional costs.
The Basaweshwara Nagar Police Station recently sent a notice signed by the police inspector to an apartment in Kurubarahalli, referring to the Karnataka Public Safety (Measures) Enforcement Rules 2018.
Sangeetha Meenakshi, a resident and former secretary of Olety Landmark Apartment, said, “We received a notice on October 26 and also had a meeting with the local police. They have asked for high-resolution CCTV that can also work in the night, door frame metal detectors [DFMD], ID cards for residents, body and luggage scanners and security personnel. We have to install them with our money, even though we already have some security measures in place which are sufficient.”
The residents argue that they have 40 CCTVs installed, round-the-clock security, video doorbells and IDs already.
“Introducing more measures such as male and female security personnel for frisking, would involve additional costs. This could run into Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh in total. We told them this when we met them.The gazetted notification mandates only commercial establishments to have these security measures and not private residences. So why do we have to take up extra measures?” she questioned.
She added that visitors in a car would have to deal with the inconvenience of getting off their cars to get scanned each time they enter the premises.
Devina Apartments in the same area also received the notice. Sathyanand, secretary of the society, said, “This rule does not apply to apartments but commercial establishments. We plan to meet the local police to discuss with them soon. We have our own security measures already, and our society has only 150 people living in it.”
An excerpt of the notice to one of the apartment reads, ‘As your apartment, is one of the places where more than 100 people visit, it is mandatory to install CCTV cameras, have security personnel, door frame metal detectors [DFMD] and scanners.’
It further read, ‘For the safety and security of the public, as measures to prevent crime and maintain law and order, you are to install high-resolution CCTV cameras outside the building where it can clearly record the activities in front of the building, appoint security staff for 24 hours surveillance and have scanners for checking.’
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said, “As per the act, wherever the footfall is 100 to 500, the establishments will have to take up certain measures. They need to have metal detectors, CCTV
surveillance, baggage scanners and any other provisions made mandatory by the government.”
However, he added, “Apartments do not fall under this category and it is meant for commercial
establishments.” But after CE shared the notice being served by the local police station ordering apartments to take up these measures, Suneel Kumar wasn’t responding to our calls.