Delhi police to install CCTVs at IGI after murder

Following the May 18 murder of Harnoor Singh, 17, near the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi Police have decided to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) equipped with number plate reading facility at strategic locations on the approach road of the airport. Faizan Haider reports.

Following the May 18 murder of Harnoor Singh, 17, near the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Delhi Police have decided to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) equipped with number plate reading facility at strategic locations on the approach road of the airport.

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Singh and his 'friends' drove in his Swift Dzire to a petrol pump near Terminal 3, where the same friends later killed him.

The Delhi police found it difficult to trace the vehicle after the murder, as the area is not covered by CCTV. Since there are three approach roads to T3, a survey is on to identify the areas where cameras need to be installed. The sophisticated cameras would help the police trace vehicles even after they leave the airport area.

The police had earlier written a letter to the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to install CCTV cameras within 5-km range of the Delhi airport, but since it did not respond, the Delhi police decided to do it itself.

"We are consulting a private firm to suggest strategic locations where CCTV cameras need to be installed. We want each vehicle coming to the airport to be scanned," said RA Sanjeev, DCP (airport).

The Central Industrial Security force (CISF), which is responsible for the security of airport, had earlier identified over 50 areas in the city where CCTV coverage is required.

According to the police, northern access road also required CCTV surveillance. The 1.3-km-long road, which includes a 360-metre-long tunnel beneath runway 28, cuts the distance between the domestic terminals of the IGI Airport and T3.

The road, while it makes the lives of passengers easy, has also become a potential security hazard. As it runs through the airside area of the airport, it requires extra patrolling.

Mounds of soil excavated from the tunnel make it easy for anyone to climb up near the boundary wall and take a close look at the aircraft taxiing just a few hundred metres away.