The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC)has asked the government to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in all police stations across the State.
In a directive to the State Police Chief on Tuesday, Commission acting Chairperson P. Mohanadas said all those who lodge complaints with the police should be given acknowledgement receipts. The government should issue circulars to all police stations to this effect.
The State Police Chief told the Commission here on Tuesday that many police stations did not have CCTV cameras right now. The commission observed that this was leading to denial of justice to complainants.
The poor and downtrodden were the worst affected due to the lapses and misuse of power by the police personnel.
There had been reports that complainants were being slapped with non-bailable charges to help vested interests.
Mr. Mohanadas observed that the Commission was not able to proceed against police officials accused of lapses because of lack of evidence.
At a time when the most modern equipment was available, it was not impossible for the police to install the cameras, he said. Even if it was not possible to issue receipts to the complainants, it would be possible from the CCTV footage to prove that they had lodged the complaints. Also, any illegal move by the police could also be detected from the visuals.
Issuing of receipts
The State Police Chief told the meeting that the police were not issuing receipts only when there was no power or Internet connection at the station.
The Commission said if the police refused to issue a receipt based on a complaint about the possibility of a crime, they could not wash their hands of it after the crime was perpetrated.
