Two brothers who took the plunge into petty crime kept the city police force on their toes for two years as they committed one chain-snatching after another.

The duo, whose modus operandi was to swoop down on unsuspecting locals on their bike, committed a total of 51 chain-snatchings before police finally caught up to them on May 22 this year.

A stash of 1,142 grams of gold worth ₹34 lakh was recovered from their possession.

A senior police officer from Crime Wing-Gajuwaka said footage from CCTV cameras proved to be crucial in arresting the elusive duo.

“Earlier, CCTV cameras used to be installed only at major junctions, but now they are ubiquitous. We compared the helmet and the shirt of the accused from retrieved CCTV footage. It was an exact match,” the police officer said, adding that the cameras capture video of high resolution which makes it easy to identify people.

Under scanner

The city, one of the fastest-growing in the country, is considered a soft target for terrorists owing to its long coastline.

Recent documents unearthed by the Kerala Police have revealed that terror groups such as ISIS are now focussing in India and States such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are on their radar.

The Police Department, with the support of several agencies and residential associations, has been making efforts to bring the entire city under CCTV surveillance.

Towards this goal, over 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed across the city under 23 police station limits in the last one year.

“There were already around 15,000 cameras installed at various places by police and municipal corporation. With the city developing at a fast rate, more than 10,000 cameras have been installed in last year. Now, there are over 25,000 CCTV cameras surveilling the city and the results are outstanding. The CCTVs have been very helpful not just for crime detection, but also for monitoring and controlling traffic,” said DCP (Law & Order-I) M. Ravindranath Babu.

Public support

The DCP said that a number of agencies, including Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) which sanctioned CCTVs in the VPT region and a few other areas, came forward to set up cameras. Several resident welfare associations, spurred on by awareness campaigns, have also come forward to set up cameras in their localities. The GVMC, as part of the Smart City Project, has also installed a number of CCTVs, Mr. Ravindranath Babu said, adding that more cameras would be installed in the coming days.

“The CCTVs are coming in handy even for regulating traffic. During the IPL matches, Chandanotsavam and other major events, we depended on CCTVs. However, there are some more areas which are yet to be covered,” said a traffic Inspector from East Sub-Division.

Coastal threats

Having a long coastline and a number of vital installations such as HPCL, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, and Naval Dock Yard, Visakhapatnam has always been considered a soft target through the water route. After a string of suicide bomb attacks by suspected ISIS terrorists in Sri Lanka, former Director-General of Police R.P. Thakur cautioned that the city needed to be on the alert for it housed several institutions of strategic importance. Having a sufficient number of high-quality CCTVs along the coastal stretch would come in handy in maintaining a strict surveillance, he said.

“CCTVs play an important role, as extra eyes for the police. But not just CCTVs, gathering information from agencies concerned is also important in such cases. The department is always on alert,” Mr. Ravindranath Babu said.