Ganeshotsav: GRP heightens security in Mumbai with bodycams

Dadar, Currey Road, Parel, Chinchpokli, Byculla and Lower Parel stations will have heightened security. File pic

Cops with bodycams is one among the several measures the Government Railway Police will be taking, starting today, to keep an eye on hooligans and mischief-makers at six stations that witness rush during Ganeshotsav. This will be the first time the railway police will use body cameras for security and surveillance during the Ganpati festival.

Nearly 3,500 police personnel, including 30 equipped with body cameras, will be deployed at Dadar, Currey Road, Parel, Chinchpokli, Byculla and Lower Parel stations. These stations have been picked given the crowd the areas in their vicinity get.

During Ganpati visarjan, huge crowds emerge in Girgaon Chowpatty, Khetwadi, Byculla, Parel and Lalbaug for the darshan of Bappa before the farewell. This year, heavy crowds are expected, as people will be celebrating the festival without any restrictions for the first time since 2020 when COVID-19 hit the city.

Along with GRP, Maharashtra Security Force and home guards will also be deployed, said officials. Bomb squads along with sniffer dogs will be stationed at crowded stations.

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Each of the six stations will have police teams in plain clothes to nab any offender. "We will take strict actions against criminals if we find them disrupting the festivities in any form," said Sandip Bhajibhakre, deputy commissioner of police (GRP West).

More arrangements at key stations

>> Helpdesk for devotees at Dadar, Chinchpokli, Currey Road and Byculla stations
>> Cops will broadcast Mukh darshan and line darshan information
>> Special GRP teams for reuniting missing children
>> Crime Branch teams will also be deployed to catch snatchers, robbers
>> Constant monitoring of CCTV cameras

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No of cops to be equipped with body cameras