The Hindu : Front Page : Central station CCTV nets its first suspect

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Monday, Feb 09, 2009
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Central station CCTV nets its first suspect

Staff Reporter

Youth caught fighting over a bag containing money he had stolen

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

UNDER THE SCANNER: A CCTV camera at Central Railway Station.

CHENNAI: A 19-year-old youth earned the dubious record of becoming the first suspect to be apprehended with the help of CCTV cameras installed less than a week ago at Chennai Central railway station.

According to Government Railway Police sources, Saghar alias Sunil of Goothi Village, Ganapur Taluk, Maharashtra, was trying to flee with Rs.1 lakh in cash that he had stolen from a jewellery-cum-money lender’s shop in Villupuram where he was employed.

The police said he escaped with the cash from the shop on Tuesday and had come to Chennai on Friday night to board a train to Maharashtra.

Suspecting Saghar to have stolen the money, the jewellery shop owner, Suresh, and a few other employees came to Chennai. One of the employees, Kathirvel, traced the accused at the station and confronted him.

“Around 1.30 a.m. on Saturday, we spotted on the CCTV monitors in the control room two men fighting over a bag on platform number 6. The beat constable was alerted and he soon caught hold of the two persons. During questioning, we came to know about the case in Villupuram. Saghar confessed to have stolen the Rs.1 lakh from his employer,” said P. Kanthavel, Inspector of Police, GRP, Chennai Central. Police recovered the cash and a mobile phone from the accused. S.N.Seshasai, Deputy Inspector-General, Railways, told The Hindu that the installation of CCTV cameras in key locations at Chennai Central, including at the entry and exit points helped. “We will continue to monitor all the platforms round-the-clock on the CCTVs. It would be in addition to the patrolling by our personnel to curb criminal activities on the station premises,” he said.

Superintendent of Police Railways S.Manoharan said the installation of the cameras was part of the measures to ensure safety of passengers and their belongings. Railway police intend to put in place additional measures to strengthen security at railway stations.

The CCTV network, which includes 39 cameras and a modern control room, was commissioned on February 3.

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