India News | Allahabad HC Seeks Report on CCTV Cameras in Lucknow Police Stations

Lucknow, Aug 22 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over non-functioning of CCTV cameras at some police stations in Lucknow and directed the city police commissioner to submit a report on the status of such cameras.

Hearing a case regarding alleged custodial violence in Chinhat police station, a Lucknow bench of the high court wondered at a report of Additional Commissioner of Police (East) Sayyed Ali Abbas that the CCTV cameras at the police station were not working.

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The bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice N K Johari said while hearing another case, it had found that CCTV cameras of SGPGI police station were also not working at the time of incident.

“It is a matter of grave concern,” said the bench.

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The bench passed the remarks in its order on a writ petition filed by Rajat Bajpai.

The petitioner had alleged that the police tortured him at Chinhat police station, when he was taken there after an altercation between him and some policemen regarding parking of his motorcycle at Matiari-Deva road crossing.

During course of hearing, allegations were made against two constables, Rahul Kumar and Vishal Singh, who were present in plain clothes at the police station and had taken the petitioner out of the lockup for few minutes.

When the CCTV footage of the lockup was summoned by the court, it was told that the cameras were not working at the relevant point of time and for few days.

Taking cognisance of the issue, the bench asked the Lucknow police commissioner to take suitable action against the erring police personnel of Chinhat police station, and also sought a report by the next date on why the CCTV cameras were not working.

Earlier, the police had said that the petitioner's father and brother were lawyers in the high court and hence he created a scene when he was stopped to park his motorcycle on the road.

But the bench found that the medical report conducted by the KGMU doctor at its direction revealed that the petitioner had received abrasion and contusion at both of his legs caused by hard and blunt object and these injuries could not come due to friction.

When the bench was apprised that the police commissioner said that disciplinary action was proposed against sub-inspector Ramesh Chandra Yadav and in-charge inspector Alok Rao, it reacted that mere transfer of constables Rahul Kumar and Vishal Singh was not adequate, as allegations of committing custodial violence was levelled against them in the petition.

Asking the petitioner to make the two constables opposite parties in the petition, the bench directed the police to submit action taken report before it on September 20.

The bench also asked the police commissioner to take corrective measures to ensure functioning of CCTV cameras.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)