SHRC seeks report over plea for CCTVs in all police stations

The Hindu: Chennai: Wednesday, 22 July 2020.

The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Tuesday called for a report from the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police over a plea for installing CCTVs in all police stations and preserving the recordings for at least a year. SHRC acting chairperson D. Jayachandran sought a report from the authorities within four weeks.

Complainant E. Adhisayakumar of Thoothukudi in his plea submitted that the recordings by CCTVs installed at Sattankulam Police Station which was involved in the custodial deaths of two persons recently, could not be used for probe, as they were programmed to erase within a day.

The Judicial Magistrate during his preliminary inquiry into the Sattankulam custodial deaths too recorded in his report that the recordings in CCTVs installed in the station were erased and could not be obtained, Mr. Adhisayakumar pointed out.

When the recordings were sought under the RTI Act, the Public Information Officer said they the day could not be retrieved, the complainant said. “CCTV recordings are essential to establish their side of the story when there are actions against the general public in police stations. It is only in the interest of justice that such recordings should be preserved,” he contended.

The complainant went on to seek monitoring of all CCTVs in police stations through a district-wise control room and that their recordings are preserved at least for a year.