Big Bro may watch over you in locals too

To check the rise in cases of dumped dead bodies and other felonies in city's locals, railways consider setting up CCTVs inside coaches, at the behest of MoS for home

Big Bro may watch over you in locals too

To check the rise in cases of dumped dead bodies and other felonies in city's locals, railways consider setting up CCTVs inside coaches, at the behest of MoS for home

Big Brother may soon be watching those using the city's suburban rail network to carry out gruesome crimes and even petty offences.
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After a surge in the number of cases involving dumping of corpses, assault on commuters, and crimes against women in the city's locals, the Minister of State for Home has directed railway authorities to see how practicable installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside trains is.

Satej Patil, the MoS, held a meeting last week with GRP officials, asking them to study the feasibility of installing CCTV cameras in train coaches.

Shrikant Savarkar, inspector general of police (GRP), said, "One of the points of discussion at the meeting was installing CCTV cameras inside train compartments.

After further discussions, we will send a proposal to the railways. If the installation is feasible, we will go ahead with it in the interest of passenger safety."

The rise in crime over the last few months, with railways as the backdrop, has tensed up the air between railway authorities, railway police and passengers, who have grave concerns about their safety in trains.
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Said Rahul Pawar, a regular commuter, said, "I worry I may stumble upon a dead body stashed in some train compartment.
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I get anxious looking at any big bag in the locals. The government needs to act and check the rising crime instance."
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As of now, the cameras have only been installed on railway platforms.

Officials believe this move will help them keep tabs on commuters. "Crimes like molestation and pick-pocketing which go unregistered leave the culprits free to repeat their offences.

With CCTVs in train coaches, every small detail could be captured and action taken immediately," said a GRP official.

'Not practical'
However, not all railway officials believe it is a practical step. "Despite the cameras, petty crimes like pick-pocketing may go unnoticed because of the tremendous rush," said a railway official on condition of anonymity.
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"Also, their safeguarding and maintenance will be a headache. Above all, we need good-quality equipment in sufficient quantity.

Many of those currently installed at railway platforms are not functional because of lack of maintenance." The cameras will be susceptible to being stolen or tampered with.

Said a senior railway official, "In the past, many crime cases would have been solved had the cameras been installed, even if at the platform."

Sharat Chandrayan, Chief PRO, Western Railway, said, "Installing CCTV cameras inside train compartments is not at all practical.

Nowhere in the world has this been done. However, we will look at the proposal before taking the final call."

In 2003-04, the railways in Mumbai had drawn up plans to fix CCTVs in local trains, but the idea was scrapped at the design stage after an official estimation found that installing four cameras in every coach is unfeasible.

Underway
In 2010, Research, Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) introduced a plan to install CCTV cameras in long-distance trains.
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If the move is successful, then CCTVs will be installed in every coach of the locals, as part of Phase 2 of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project.

The images transmitted would be flashed on a screen in a control room where an official will monitor them. But the project is under planning stage.u00a0

468
Number of CCTV cameras on western suburban railway stations, of which 354 are fixed

950
Number of CCTV cameras on central suburban railway stations, of which 100 are installed at CST