Every month, CCTV has been used by police investigators in about 15 cases relating to road accidents, theft and the missing of valuables during travel.
This has helped solve the cases by capturing wrongdoing on film or by tracking the on-spot activities of suspects before or after.
In a case related to a road accident at Babar Mahal last August, good quality footage was taken from the control room at the Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Office (MPCO), Ranipokhari, after the investigations became complicated.
Following the death on the spot of a scooter rider, the kin of the deceased and others had claimed that the driver of another vehicle involved in the road accident was guilty. But the claim was proved wrong after inspection of CCTV footage from the site. Even the parents of the deceased accepted the finding.
In another road accident, at Bijuli Bazar last July, a biker heading towards Babarmahal was hit by a jeep coming from the opposite direction and the biker died. In that case too, it was later shown that the deceased had violated lane discipline and caused the accident.
Similarly, a driver was shown to be guilty of stealing cash from inside the car of Nepali Congress lawmaker Man Mohan Bhattarai. The car was parked under CCTV surveillance at the Parliament building, New Baneshwar and sufficient proof was obtained to detain the accused, said DSP Naresh Man Shrestha, chief of the CCTV monitoring department at MPCO.
According to Shrestha, a man was able to get back his missing bag containing gold jewelry after a few days. Following a complaint, police at Maharajgunj got hold of footage of taxies plying the route the man had used at the time and they were able to narrow down the taxies with the help of the number plates and finally trace the driver who found the missing bag.
SP Posh Raj Pokharel, spokesperson at Metropolitan Traffic Police Office, said CCTV footage has been helpful in traffic management, accident investigations and other such work, but CCTV monitoring is frequently hindered by lack of proper street lighting and load-shedding. Thefts of CCTV fibre and monkeys on the loose are also problems.
With the proliferation of the cameras, charges of invasion of privacy and questions about the effectiveness of the system have also arisen, according to the authorities.
MPCO wants 762 CCTV camera for Valley
Meanwhile, MPCO has sought an additional 762 CCTV cameras for major strategic and crime prone points in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.
At present, MPCO does its monitoring with 232 cameras installed at various places in the Valley, while 70 cameras are monitored by the Metropolitan
Traffic Police and 19 cameras that have been installed in the Bouddha area are monitored by Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Boudha. Some CCTV cameras have been installed by businesses and other entities at public places, temples, business hubs and the like.
"Though CCTV cameras have become a key tool, over 70 percent of major strategic points in the Valley are not under CCTV surveillance," a police officer at MPCO informed. "We have requested the headquarters to respond to this issue and it is under consideration," he added.
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