Residents in UP village install CCTV cameras to keep a check on thefts

Spread across 2km, Bhojpur village is located in the rural belt of Ghaziabad district and is about 32km from the district headquarters. The estimated population in the village is about 10,000-12,000

After a spate of thefts in Bhojpur village near Modinagar this year, especially of cattle, villagers decided to take matters in their own hands and installed 32 CCTV cameras, which has brought a major portion of the village under surveillance. Plans are now being formulated to put in place 32 more cameras to cover every street in the village.

A control room has been set up inside the gram panchayat office in Bhojpur village, from where the live feed of all the locations where the CCTV cameras have been set up can be monitored. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Spread across 2km, the village is located in the rural belt of Ghaziabad district and is about 32km from the district headquarters. The estimated population in the village is about 10,000-12,000.

Shahid Chaudhary, the head of the village or gram pradhan, said instances of petty thefts, especially of cattle,had become a cause of concern for poor farmers.

“As per our estimates, there have been about a dozen theft cases so far this year. A farmer generally incurs a loss of about ₹40,000-50,000 if he loses a cattle. Further, petty thefts of bicycle or some small household item were rampant.Sometimes, we reported the matter to police while other people let it go. We decided to keep an eye on such activities and installed about 32 CCTV cameras at major streets in our village,” said Chaudhary adding that the panchayat funds were used for the purpose.

The CCTV cameras are monitored from a control centre that functions out of the panchayat office in the village.

“We have installed a big screen which shows live feeds of all locations. I myself monitor the footage till afternoon. We have deployed another person who takes over later in the day. Reports of thefts have reduced ever since we installed the CCTV cameras about a month ago. In addition to the cameras, we have also installed loudspeakers, which help us convey messages to people like holding vaccination camps, ration distribution and any other public service messages,” added Chaudhary.

Prabhat Kumar Dixit, station house officer (SHO) of Bhojpur police station, said police also asked villagers to take some initiative, following which they installed the CCTV cameras.

“The installation of CCTV cameras has given us an edge as we can rely on its footage when there is a theft or any other criminal activity. There have been cattle thefts in Bhojpur but they have subsided now. One such CCTV camera is also installed near the police station, from where two roads go towards Hapur city and Pilkhuwa. The CCTV cameras have helped villagers but will be of great help to the police too,” said Dixit.

Villagers said the CCTV cameras are also keeping the anti-social elements under check.

“The cameras have been installed at all the major crossings of our village. We have a liquor shop nearby and girls pass by it while coming from their schools/colleges or market. The cameras are deterring anti-social elements from indulging in any inappropriate activity. Any incident in the village will be recorded in the CCTV cameras,” said Suraj Verma, a resident, who is pursuing post-graduation from Modinagar.

Senior police officers praised the efforts of the villagers and said that their initiative should serve as a model for other gram panchayats.

“We have heard of such initiatives in urban localities but are seldom taken up in villages. In Ghaziabad, we have about 150 gram panchayats and we urge each of them to take up such initiatives, which will also help police check crimes and other incidents,” said Iraj Raja, superintendent of rural police.