At the holy Golden Temple, Amritsar, closed circuit (CCTV) cameras are keeping an eye on unholy practices. In the shrine an average of one million devotees visit daily, and a higher number on weekends, the CCTV cameras are proving to be more than useful, turning out to be a the nemesis for thieves, pick-pockets and anti-social elements.
Since June, 2011 when the cameras became functional, 800 thieves have been caught thanks to them. Recently, a daring child theft was recorded by the CCTV cameras.
So impressed was he, that Amritsar Police Commissioner Ram Singh said, “One should install CCTVs at all places in the city. If any crime takes place it is a very effective tool to nab criminals. Golden Temple is the best example of how effective CCTV cameras can be.’’
Gurmilap Singh along with his father Manjit Singh, who had come from Ferozepur to the Golden Temple, were sleeping in the parikrama area. His mother had gone to do sewa (devotional service) when a lady came and picked up the boy. She patting the sleeping child and walked away. Luckily, the camera recorded the child theft. The child was recovered a day later.
The footage saved the child as it was only after an hour of his being picked away that the family came to know he was missing and raised an alarm. The footage showed an unidentified woman picking up Gurmilap and walking away.
On an average now, one thief is caught daily at the shrine. In the last three months, 100 thieves have been caught and handed over to the police and cases registered.
In 2011, CCTV cameras were installed at crucial points in the city. The police, in association with the Amritsar Improvement Trust, kick-started the Intelligent City Surveillance Project under which 35 major intersections and places were be monitored with the help of close circuit television cameras round the clock.
In another incident, five people were nabbed for theft of money during the counting of cash from the golak at the Golden Temple. One accused picked up Rs 80,000 while counting the money and carried the packet to the washroom. Later, five were identified as accused—Manpreet Singh, Kuljit Singh, Balbir Singh, Baldev Singh, all sewadars of Sewa Dal, and Gulzar Singh, associate manager, Golden Temple.
The shrine is a favourite hunting ground for thieves. The majority of the thefts involve mobile phones and wallets. The area where most thefts are reported from us Dukhbhanjani Ber in the temple which holds a great significance for devotees who wish to take a holy dip in the sarovar. Equally prone to thefts is the Lachi Ber, which is situated right next to the Darshani Deorhi. There is a huge rush of devotees in peak hours at the entrance and the exit.
A SGPC official said a total of 200 cameras have been installed at the temple. Of these, 25 were high-end cameras with excellent megapixel and zoom configurations and can be rotated in any direction. The rest are static ones.
At the control room specifically for CCTVs that works 24 hours a day, there is a supervisor and four employees in each shift and there are total three shifts that monitor the nine LCDs televisions. Also, five wireless operators work in one shift to act on the directions of the four employees watching the footage.
“As one watches a person committing the crime, the message is sent from the control room to these wireless operators who flash the message to the 10 member task force of the shrine. The task force in plainclothes then nabs the accused,’’ said an official.
This project is the brain child of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee. Said president Avtar Singh Makkar: “Another 100 cameras will be installed in the temple’s new underground entrance plaza by Diwali and elsewhere.”
Sources said that after Golden Temple, the cameras will be installed at Anandpur Sahib, the other scared shrine and also one of the five takhts of the Sikhs and the historic Gurudwara Baba Deep Saheed in Amritsar.