A special, 24-hour control room at Kanakakkunnu Palace, 80 police personnel with night-vision cameras, ‘shadow police’ squads, ‘ghost’ patrols, and hidden closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be part of the security blanket that the Kerala Police will throw over the city on Monday when the Onam Week celebrations conclude with a traditional pageantry.
In all, 1,900 police personnel will be deployed at various locations in the city, including in the thoroughfares on the Attakulangara-Kowdiar stretch and the Palayam-Kesavadasapuram stretch. The bomb squad and police commandos will be deployed.
In addition to the CCTV cameras in place, hidden cameras have been installed to ensure an unblinking security eye on important locations and roads. Seventy police cameras will provide live footage to the police on Monday.
The camera network operated from the city police control room will work round the clock, a press note issued here said.
Night-vision cameras
The shadow police — police personnel specially trained to spot criminals — will roam the roads, streets, and by-lanes.
Eighty police personnel with night-vision digital cameras will mingle with the crowds at different places, including at Attakulangara, East Fort, Fort area, Chala, Overbridge, Thampanoor, Ayurveda College, Statue, Palayam, Museum, PMG, Pattom, Vellayambalam, Kowdiar, Sasthamangalam, Poojappura, and Kanakakkunnu.
In plainclothes too
Squads of the ghost patrol and the shadow patrol will operate with special focus on cinemas, shopping malls, places of worship, tourist centres, railway station, and bus-stand to apprehend pickpockets and those who try to molest women. Adding strength to this drive will be women police personnel in plainclothes.
Those who arrive to see the procession will not be allowed to accompany the floats. Those who try to create nuisance by artificially creating a ‘rush’ will be dealt with severely, the police warned.
Anyone who sees a suspicious object or is witness to an attempt to molest women is requested to alert immediately the police on the following numbers: police control room: 100, 0471 2331403, 2331843; city special branch: 2321399; crime stopper: 1090; women’s helpline: 1091; traffic helpline: 1099; DCP Law and Order (SMS complaints): 9497 996988; Kerala Police SMS alert: 9497 900000; Kanakakkunnu control room: 272 0100.
