Ganja vanishes from Sangareddy district court, police rue lack of CCTVs
Locals said discussions about CCTV cameras only seem to surface when a significant incident occurs in the town.
Published: 21st September 2023 09:44 AM | Last Updated: 21st September 2023 09:44 AM | A+A A-
Image used for representational purpose. (Express Illustration)
SANGAREDDY: With 40 kg of seized ganja going missing from the Sangareddy district court over the weekend, residents have raised concerns over the limited scope of CCTV cameras and the lack of maintenance. They claimed that while both the police and private individuals enthusiastically install CCTV cameras, they subsequently neglect their maintenance. Many are ignoring the essential need for regular checks and repairs when necessary.
The malfunctioning of CCTV cameras has posed difficulties for the police when investigating crimes, as crucial footage is often unavailable. To illustrate, the police department initially installed 20 CCTV cameras in Sangareddy, the district headquarters, and subsequently, local residents and organisations joined in the effort, contributing 100 more cameras. An initiative, Nenu Saitham, also led to the installation of 466 additional cameras. This resulted in a total of 586 CCTV cameras from Sangareddy town to Pothireddypalli circle. However, many of these cameras have no or limited functionality.
Locals said discussions about CCTV cameras only seem to surface when a significant incident occurs in the town. Recently, after the theft of 40 kg of seized ganja from a room in the district court of Sangareddy, these concerns have resurfaced. The ganja, submitted as evidence by the Sangareddy town police, went missing from the court’s storage room over a weekend.
Upon discovering the missing ganja on Tuesday, the court staff reported the incident to the officials, who then informed the town police. Circle Inspector (CI) Sridhar Reddy said they received a complaint from the court superintendent, based on which a case was registered and is currently under investigation. However, he noted that the court does not possess any CCTV cameras and the cops are reviewing the footage from nearby CCTV cameras. As of Wednesday evening, no pertinent information had been obtained.
