In wake of recent murders in Kochi, police to increase CCTV network to 2 lakh cameras

Kochi: In the wake of recent alcohol and drug-related murders, including a man killing his roommate in a flat near Infopark here, the Kerala police has decided to enlarge its CCTV network in the port city under the ‘Operation Nireekshanam’ (surveillance) campaign.

Kochi City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam told media persons here that presently there are 20,000 CCTV cameras in the city and the plan was to increase the numbers to two lakh.

Under the campaign, every police station should have 8,000 CCTV cameras under their control.

These would include the cameras put up outside private residences, apartment complexes, commercial establishments as well as entry and exit points of important places, the officer said.

For this, the police was talking to resident welfare associations (RWAs) of colonies and apartment complexes as well as merchant associations, he said.

Another senior officer, meanwhile, said that the campaign was not a limited time project.

He said that besides setting up cameras on their own, they will also include private CCTVs into their surveillance network.

While the move comes in the wake of the murder in the flat near Infopark where CCTV cameras were not functional, police said the recent murders were not the only reason.

The person accused of killing his roommate in the flat near Infopark was caught from Kasaragod district on Wednesday as he tried to escape from Kerala, police had said.

The killing was allegedly a result of a drug-related row between the accused and the victim and when the former was apprehended, a commercial quantity of MDMA was recovered from his possession, police had said.

As per the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, more than 10 grams of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA is considered a commercial quantity.

The body of Malappuram-native Sajeev was found wrapped in a bedsheet from the flat on Tuesday afternoon after some of his other roommates returned from a trip, police had said.

After the incident, the Kochi City Police Commissioner had told media persons that such incidents can be avoided if RWAs as well as the local populace keep the police informed about the newcomers or strangers in their neighbourhoods.

He had said there were three murder cases in Kochi in the last several days and each crime was committed under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

RWAs and the local populace too have to be vigilant and immediately report to the police any criminal or other untoward incidents or disturbances involving strangers or outsiders in their localities, he had said.

”In a city like Kochi, only prompt action can prevent such incidents,” he had also said.