Nagpur police struggle with non-functional CCTV cameras

Nagpur experienced serious riots on Monday, but an investigation has hit a major roadblock. Almost half of the city's CCTV cameras were not working, making it difficult for police to identify the rioters who attacked officers and vandalized property. Out of around 3,600 CCTV cameras installed for traffic management and crime prevention, about 1,500 were non-operational. This issue has persisted for several days due to technical and administrative problems. The few working cameras provided little help at night, as their footage wasn’t clear enough for investigations. Police are now relying on cellphone videos and social media posts to gather evidence. They believe that much of the video shared online could provide leads on the rioters. Around 70 non-working cameras were at the center of the riots, severely impacting the ability to capture critical footage during the chaos. Despite the setbacks, police can use some footage from five multi-purpose surveillance vehicles equipped with 17 operational cameras each. Officials hope this footage will assist in their investigation. However, many private CCTV cameras were damaged in the riots, further complicating the recovery of evidence. Local communities have shown reluctance to help police access footage involving potential suspects. As the investigation progresses, police stress that effective CCTV footage is essential to counter accusations of wrongful arrests and misidentifications. Yet, the issue of non-functional cameras remains a considerable challenge for law enforcement in Nagpur.