VISAKHAPATNAM: RELATIVES and visitors of in-patients of the King George Hospital (KGH) are bugged by security lapses on the premises. Bike thefts, stealing of baggage and eve-teasing have become order of the day at the hospital.
Thousands of patients and their relatives from Visakhapatnam, its neighbouring districts visit the KGH daily. With just around 50 CCTV cameras on the premises, intruders are having a field day. Most of the theft cases are said to occur during nights, when the patients’ attendants sleep or they go out on some chore.
“Many visitors from other regions call on patients. They lose their cash bags or luggage during night. Chances of noticing criminals is difficult. It is a fact that many do not complain for lack of time,” says a senior police officer.
Police say that the KGH region is prone to bike theft cases, apart from other offences. “In most cases in One Town, the accuse use duplicate keys to take away the vehicle. That happens in the KGH,” said a police source.
It is to be noted that the medical college students and nurses face eve-teasing, as intruders have unbounded freedom. There are no official complaints. In the past, missing infant cases were reported due to lack of proper vigil.
The police have recently arrested one V Sreenu for stealing motorcycles in and around the KGH and the One Town area. As many as 13 bikes were recovered from his possession.
The police blame the KGH for not setting up CCTV cameras at important points, saying that this a major hurdle while investigating any offence. Some cameras too do not function well. The police find tough to identify people from the footage. It was learnt that the police had suggested to the authorities to increase security.
“We have prepared a security audit over the issue. We suggested CCTVs at crucial junctions, and to increase security, especially during nights. Having CCTV cameras at the entrance and some crucial junctions will help trace criminals,” said One Town inspector V Srinivas.
ADCP (Crimes) S Varada Raju admitting to the crimes, said that most of the complaints do not reach them. However to increase security, their patrolling teams will be guarding the area.
On the issues, KGH superintendent Madhusudhan Babu said the offences had come down gradually. He said that at present 67 security personnel guard the area in three shifts, and in the ensuing days, the number of guards will be increased to 180.
“We have around 50 cameras on KGH premises and placed an order for 40 more. This will clear the issues,” he added.