Non-functional CCTVs at Ludhiana railway station hamper probe

Nikhil Bhardwaj

Ludhiana, July 1

Two serious crime incidents that took place in the jurisdiction of Government Railway Police (GRP) have put the railway police on toes. However, a major roadblock which is hindering the investigation in both the cases are the non-functional CCTVs installed in and outside the Ludhiana railway station.

Notably, on Sunday a seven-month-old girl went missing from the city railway station. Girl’s parents and other family members had returned after paying obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi Temple on Sunday afternoon. Tired, all of them planned to leave for their house in the morning and slept at the railway station. However, when they woke up, the girl was missing.

In another incident, Tushar Thakur (24) was pushed out the a moving train by three miscreants on May 19 after he objected to smoking cigarettes inside the train. The youth, who hailed from Jammu, was thrown out of the moving train a few kilometres behind the city railway station. He was undergoing treatment at DMCH. The police were investigating Tushar’s case to trace the three suspects who pushed him out of the moving train.

All the CCTV cameras of different railway stations from Jammu to Ludhiana were being checked.

SHO GRP Inspector Jatinder Singh said investigation into both the cases is going on and different angles are being explored. The main roadblock in the missing child case is the lack of CCTV footage. A CCTV was installed at the place from where child was stolen, but it was in working condition. Even the CCTVs at exist and entry points of the railway station, including the reservation counter, were also not functional. Even camera put up on the railway road outside the station were also not functioning due to some technical issues when the child was stolen.

In Tushar’s case, we checked dozens of camera at different railway station from Jammu till Ludhiana, but the suspects could not be identified. We are working on different angles, we will definitely solve this case and provide justice to Tushar, said Singh.