BENGALURU: Angry over bills not being paid, two men allegedly cut optical fibre cables connected to over 240 CCTV cameras at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 24, ahead of the IPL cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans. This severely affected security surveillance by the police, who were monitoring the stadium.
The Cubbon Park police registered an FIR against the two persons -- Manjunath E (37), hailing from Chitradurga, and Abdul Kalam (19) from Uttar Pradesh. The police have been relying on CCTV footage and AI technology for crowd control after the stampede at the stadium on June 4 last year.
The complaint was filed by Aditya Bhat, an employee of Staqu Technologies, a Gurugram-based firm that provides AI-driven surveillance solutions during matches. On April 24, before the RCB vs Gujarat Titans match, the company’s team conducted an inspection of the cameras in the morning and found that over 240 cameras were switched off.
Accused enter without passes, vandalise CCTV network
Further inquiry revealed that the two accused, who work for a sub-vendor company named IVS Digital Solutions, had entered the stadium around 11.30 am without valid passes, using deactivated access cards. They allegedly tampered with and damaged the NVR (Network Video Recorder) systems and fibre connections, disrupting the existing setup and destroying previously installed infrastructure.
The FIR stated that the action of the accused was caught on other CCTV cameras installed at the stadium. They were seen entering the CCTV control room without authorisation and moving towards a junction box near the parking area, where they damaged the optical fibres.
As the cameras covering critical security areas like the gates, perimeter zones, D Corporate Stand and concourse, the company was unable to provide necessary surveillance data or live feeds to the police.
A senior police officer said that a case has been registered under Section 324(4) (mischief) of BNS. The two accused were secured and are being questioned. The accused reportedly revealed that they had taken up installing, wiring and other CCTV-related work at the stadium. But despite repeated requests, they were not paid their dues.
Also negative response from the company angered Manjunath, who, along with Kalam, acted intentionally, the officer said. The system was damaged in the morning. The wires were later repaired and the cameras were made functional, which did not affect police operations.