Among the busiest stations on the southern suburban train network route, Nungambakkam station does not have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the platforms, the access points or the foot overbridge.
It was by sheer chance that the CCTV footage of a nearby apartment revealed images of a youth matching the description of the attacker. The presence of cameras within the station will act as a definite deterrent to crime and in fact, the Railway budget had proposed installing CCTVs in all stations in a phased manner. Late in the evening, the police released images and a video of the suspect taken from private cameras in the nearby street. The images were recorded at 6.43 a.m., as indicated on the screen, and the youth is seen walking fast away from the camera.
Over 9,000 people board and alight suburban trains at Nungambakkam. In Chennai Division, only 9 stations have CCTV systems installed — Chennai Central, Egmore, Beach, Tambaram, Basin Bridge, Mambalam, Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Katpadi. During a recent press conference, Southern Railway officials said 128 stations in the Zone would soon have cameras installed. The Ministry has allotted Rs. 68 crore for the project. The other issue is of vacancies in the Railway police. “The sanctioned strength is around 950, but there are only 600 personnel.On an average, only about 400 of them are on duty every day,” said a source.
