CCTV for traffic, not security: PMC

No footage of GB blast suspect Baig's arrival at Shivaji Nagar bus stand

Even as investigations into the German Bakery blast have revealed that terror suspect Mirza Himayat Baig got off at the Shivaji Nagar bus depot with a bomb, the lone CCTV camera at the bus stand can provide no clues.
The reason is there is simply no recorded footage to be shared with investigating officials.

Out of order
Sources in the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) revealed that last week an engineer had been sent to the bus stand to repair the camera.

"We learnt that the camera hasn''t been in working condition for a few weeks. In fact, we suspected it and had told our seniors about it," said a source.

Senior Depot Manager S R Burande confirmed that a technician had been over to carry out repairs but did not know exactly when the camera had stopped functioning."We don't control the camera, but the Police Commissioner's Office does," he said. "We can't tell you for how long it hasn't worked."

The Police Commissioner's Office said the responsibility of the CCTV cameras installed in the city rested with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and not with the police.

Shrinivas Bonala, PMC's additional city engineer and traffic planner, agreed that the camera at the bus stand was one among 70 installed by the PMC under its Critical Public Places Surveillance System.

"Maybe it was out of order on that day (when Baig arrived), but it is difficult to say it has been out of order for these many days. At any given point of time, some of the 70 cameras are not working," he said. "Technical problems keep cropping up and so some of them need repairs."

Footage erased
On whether the CCTV camera was working in the second week of February when the blast occurred and had captured footage that could help investigations, he said the question was of academic interest only as the PMC did not keep records for too long.

"It is irrelevant whether the camera captured data or not because any data that is older than seven days is deleted automatically. Except traffic offences, we don't store any data," Bonala said. "So if today someone asks us for data, we wouldn't have anything."

What this means is that the CCTV cameras installed in the city at a cost of more than Rs 14 crore are largely useless in case of a breach of security or a terror attack. On this, Bonala said the cameras were meant to solve traffic issues.

"These cameras are primarily installed to help with traffic control and not for security. We help clear traffic if there are jams and nab traffic offenders, which is the purpose of surveillance at these critical public places," he said. "Sometimes, if we are asked to help with footage within seven days of a crime, we do share it."