BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Police has asked the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC) to urgently restore the offline CCTV cameras in at least 41 police/GRP stations across the state.
In a letter to the chief executive officer of OCAC, the ADG Law and Order cited the Supreme Court order which has not only mandated installation of CCTV cameras in all police stations of Odisha but also to ensure their smooth and continuous functioning.
The senior police officer asked OCAC to take expeditious steps on a priority basis for restoration and functionality of the offline CCTV cameras in various police stations of the state.
The 41 police/GRP stations have been sanctioned a total of 821 CCTV cameras but 392 of them are currently non-functional. Most of the CCTV cameras are lying dysfunctional in police stations of Cuttack UPD, followed by Mayurbhanj police district, said police.
Sources said 66 CCTV cameras are non-functional in seven police stations of Cuttack UPD. Of them, all the 19 CCTV cameras installed in Mahila police station are offline after the facility was shifted to a new building last year. Similarly, in six police stations of Mayurbhanj police district, 66 cameras of the total 126 installed are lying defunct.
In the state capital, 38 cameras are non-functional in three police stations, Maitri Vihar, Dhauli and Nandankanan. All 20 CCTV cameras are defunct in Nandankanan police station after the system was reportedly damaged due to lightning.
In 2024, there was a massive outrage over assault of an army officer and his fiancée in Bharatpur police station. Turns out, the facility did not even have CCTV cameras which made the entire issue more complex as both sides blamed each other for violence.
As per the Bureau of Police Research and Development’s data on police organisations, the state had 684 police stations as on January 1, 2024. The total estimated number of the CCTV cameras to be installed was around 12,820. However, 11,860 CCTV cameras were installed across 593 police stations till January 1, 2024. The report said about 960 CCTV cameras are yet to be installed in various police stations across the state.