MADURAI: A recent investigation into the murder of a 40-year-old man inside the Trauma Care Centre (TCC) block of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) has evoked questions on the functioning of the CCTV cameras on the hospital premises, raising serious security concerns.
With CCTV camera footage playing a crucial role in solving crimes, this case had no such luck, as several of the cameras installed in the hospital, which has an outpatient footfall of 10,000 a day, were "dysfunctional and obsolete."
Sluggish surveillance?
Several complaints of the hospital management "showing lethargy" in replacing the dysfunctional cameras, despite repeated requests, came from all quarters.
According to sources, there are 58 CCTV cameras installed in the administrative block, 24 in the TCC block and 102 in the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) block.
The cameras in the CEmONC block are of High Definition (HD) quality. They were installed in 2013, when the block was built, and are fully functional, sources said. Similarly, those in the Super Speciality Block are of state-of-the-art quality and are fully functional, sources added.
Meanwhile, the total 82 cameras -- eight to ten years old -- in the TCC and administrative blocks are analogue cameras, which are considered "obsolete", said a hospital source.
"The life span of the cameras are only about five to six years. They do not provide a clear image of the faces, proving useless during any investigation," the source said. Only about 10 of the 85 cameras are in working condition, and the rest is beyond repair, the source added.
Ignorance alleged
Six months ago, a proposal to replace all the 82 cameras with HD cameras was submitted to Hospital Dean Dr J Sangumani, said another source, and the proposal was reportedly brushed under the carpet. Also, several sources pointed out that none has been officially appointed for the real-time monitoring of the CCTV camera footage.
Until about three months ago, a contract worker was given the additional in-charge to monitor the recordings, and following the termination of the contract, there is no one to monitor it now, said sources.
'Crimes remain unsolved'
According to the police, the footage from the CCTV cameras is required to probe into the frequent complaints of theft of mobile phones and motorcycles made by the patients, attendants and even doctors. Largely, the cases remain unsolved and the recovery of the stolen items becomes very difficult either due to the absence of CCTV camera recording or a lack of clarity in the recorded footage, said the police.
A few months ago, the mobile phone of one R Subramaniyam from Sivaganga district was allegedly stolen in the hospital -- an area that was under CCTV surveillance.
"When one of its doctors was attacked months ago, the hospital management immediately swung into action by strengthening security and stepped up CCTV surveillance in the CEmONC block. It is disheartening that the management has not taken any such action to ensure patients' security even after the gruesome murder. Are the lives and belongings of poor patients less important for the hospital authorities?," he said. The hospital dean was unavailable for comment.
Recall: The murder
In the wee hours of June 8, one Murugan (40) from Karumbalai was hacked to death by a six-member gang on his hospital bed in the TCC block of the hospital. Murugan was one of the accused in a murder case and was out on bail.
The investigation by the Mathichiyam police revealed that the assailants allegedly wanted to avenge the murder in which Murugan was involved.