Over 23 CCTV cameras are being installed in the heart of Central Delhi with a plan to strengthen surveillance of several locations from the historical India Gate monument — a highly sensitive location, which is also popular with Delhiites for evening and weekend visits — to the Parliament Annexe by the Delhi Police.
The step is in accordance with the police’s intent to ensure the electronic coverage of the area, which consists of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in addition to important government building such as the Ministry of Defence and the Reserve Bank of India, due to security concerns as well as law and order compulsions.
According to a senior police officer associated with the project, CCTVs had already been in operation at multiple locations on Rajpath after it had served as ground zero for a slew of protests pertaining to the December 16 gang-rape case in 2012.
Now, surveillance is being extended to adjacent areas such as Raisina Road, Jalebi Chowk, Rail Bhavan, Pandit Pant Marg and Red Cross Road among many others. A police source said the area’s proximity to Jantar Mantar — where they were obliged to allow protests — was a major concern and instrumental in their decision.
Another officer said they ‘learnt lessons’ from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s four-day-long dharna at Raisina Hill before his resignation as Chief Minister of Delhi.
