Railway stations still equipped with CCTVs that don’t record

When the Government Railway Police checked the CCTV camera to see how the commuter got trapped they found that the camera had not been working for several days.

“We don not know how his leg was trapped in the wheel but if the commuters had not pulled the chain his life would not have been saved,” said Barve’s sister-in-law Mangal Barve.

“When the CCTV camera at platform 1 of Dadar station was checked by the GRP they found that it had not been working since December 20. Cameras at Mumbai Central station are not working either,GRP officials wrote to RPF,” said a GRP personal on condition of anonymity.

The Western Railway has 535 CCTV cameras. These are monitored by the RPF at major stations and by the stationmaster at small stations. In the past few months the police have struggled to access recordings of crimes at Goregaon and Malad stations due to dysfunctional cameras.

“Stationmasters are already so busy. How can they keep vigil on everything,” said an official.

Tukaram Chavan,Railway Commissioner,said,“There are stations where these cameras are not working. Our officials have sent letter to RPF and the administration regarding this. We should have cameras that can take a 360 degree view in place of fixed cameras.”