NEW DELHI: As an after-effect of a Pakistan-linked spy ring, which was busted by Ghaziabad police, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered a country-wide audit of CCTV networks across major cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, sources said.
The advisory has been issued to all the state police forces in view of the vulnerability of the country’s surveillance infrastructure, they said, adding that the countrywide review would go well beyond a routine inspection, as the authorities want a full physical verification of every CCTV unit, registered or otherwise, operating across sensitive urban zones.
“Police departments have been asked to map all installations, verify them with official records and flag any camera that cannot be accounted for,” a source said, adding that special attention is going to be given to railway stations, cantonment areas, highways and routes with known military movement.
The sources said that the advisory has been sent to all the police forces following busting of a Pakistan-linked espionage network that did not merely exploit existing cameras but installed its own covertly at sensitive locations, including Delhi Cantonment Railway Station and Sonipat Railway Station.
“The group fitted their own cameras with solar power systems to ensure round-the-clock, uninterrupted footage, which was allegedly relayed live to ISI-linked handlers across the borders. The probe revealed that the network had tasked and funded plans to install more such panels in different cities,” another source said.
The verification advisory aims to ensure no camera operates outside the knowledge and oversight of security authorities, the sources said.