In the wake of a series of incidents where assailants have waylaid or robbed commuters on Mysuru Road flyover, the police are planning to fix CCTV cameras on the busy stretch. In the most recent incident, a businessman, who was taking home his daily earnings, was robbed of Rs. 10.8 lakh on Wednesday night.
According to police, the victim, Ramesh Chouhan, is a steel trader in Chikpet. He was headed to his home, off Mysuru Road, after collecting Rs. 10.8 lakh from his customers in Nagarathpet. He had kept the cash in a box beneath his scooter seat.
On the flyover, he was surrounded by four men on bikes, said the Chamrajpet police. “They rammed into his two-wheeler and then got into an argument, blaming him for the accident. They threatened him at knife point, snatched the bag and fled,” said a senior police officer.
Though Mr. Chouhan could not recognise any of the robbers, police suspect that the men were aware of his business and movements.
Police officers says that had there been CCTV cameras on the flyover, they would have acted as a deterrent. “Many petty crimes, like snatching mobile phones and bags, happen on the flyover. There are plans to fix CCTV cameras on the flyover soon,” said a senior police officer. Police have requested senior officers to fix at least three cameras on the flyover.
Notably, nearly 150 CCTV cameras have been fixed in the Central Business District and the police are planning to fix an additional 600 across the city. “They will be fixed in a few months,” the officer added.
Police offer protection
After numerous robberies that follow a similar modus operandi – businessmen carrying their earnings in cash are waylaid — the police had issued advisories to such peopel. “We have informed banks and other traders to inform us if someone was carrying more than Rs. 2 lakh in cash. We will escort their vehicles. But no one is taking up our offer, as most often, the cash is not accounted for,” said an officer.