With growing calls for the installation of CCTV cameras in police stations as a tool to check police harassment, cops in the state are divided on the proposal. A few police officers raised concerns of privacy arguing no one likes to be under constant surveillance. But, civil rights activists say this would be the only way ahead to make police stations more accountable and transparent.
The Madras High Court is presently hearing a petition seeking a direction to the state government to install CCTV cameras covering every room, corridor and entrance of each of the police stations in the state. The demand has gained significance as there has been a surge in custodial deaths in 2013, with 15 reported deaths. The state police were sharply criticised recently when a juvenile was shot in the neck in a Chennai police station and a 19-year-old man was shot dead by a sub-inspector in a police station in Ramanathapuram district.
