By Bisheswar Sharma
IMPHAL, March 26: Manipur is in the process of police modernisation and under the modernisation, highly expensive vehicular X-ray will also be acquired for the State soon, the Deputy Chief Minister who also holds the portfolio of State Home Minister Gaikhangam has said many a times during press briefings in the past.
However criminal incidents have been escalating in the state and the recent bomb blast at Murgee Bazar, Kwairamband Keithel Temporary Shed which killed three, including a student, and injured more than 25 people. Mentions have been made that hit and run bomb blasts; hijacks of vehicles and other criminal activities have gripped the State in the recent past.
The State is also in the first phase of introducing a city surveillance system through CCTV or Closed Circuit Television in Imphal since 2011 to minimise criminal activities in the city.
From a reliable source it is learnt that the State authority has put up 28 CCTVs around Raj Bhavan, 27 CCTVs at Chief Minister Office and 100 CCTV cameras installed in and around the greater Imphal City through a Bangalore based firm `Meltronics System Tech Pvt. Ltd`™.
Ever since the city acquired CCTV surveillance, the general public were left wondering what would do with those little cameras hanging around the places and few who have had exposures in the metro cities were expecting some Hi Tech Policing in the State.
However, not a single case of crime was cracked through CCTVs even though many of the criminal incidents occurred within the parameter of the CCTV network because the cameras were non-functional.
The State Home Minister Gaikhangam has assured to fix all the faulty CCTVs on every query by media fraternity and in the Assembly sessions.
Many questions in meetings with the Home Minister are beginning to acquire the tone of suspicion that the non-functional CCTV in the State are a decoy to divert public attention.
The more pertinent question is, while the CCTV cameras are visible everywhere, has there also been a monitoring computer room for the footages there CCTVs are supposed to transmit live to the police? If yes then where is it located?