Jama Masjid area yet to get CCTV cameras

North Delhi’s Jama Masjid, the ancient mosque which witnessed a bomb blast and two bike-borne gunmen spraying bullets on a Taiwanese film crew on September 19, 2010, is yet to be brought under adequate electronic surveillance.

North Delhi’s Jama Masjid, the ancient mosque which witnessed a bomb blast and two bike-borne gunmen spraying bullets on a Taiwanese film crew on September 19, 2010, is yet to be brought under adequate electronic surveillance.

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"The delay is momentary," said Devesh Chandra Shrivastava, additional commissioner of police (central). "The infrastructure is almost in place and the project will be completed by November 30."

Currently, there are just 13 CCTV cameras installed at the mosque. However, being mounted within its premises, these cannot be utilised to keep an electronic eye on the crowded bylanes and bustling markets surrounding it.

Police sources claim at least three of these are presently dysfunctional. This, despite the Delhi Police's claim in June 2011 that 30 spots in and around the Mughal-era mosque will be put under electronic surveillance.

"We had surveyed the area with a government-owned service provider's engineers and chalked-put plans; now the ball is in their court," said an officer. If all goes according to plan, the police plans to install at least 27 CCTV cameras and licence plate reader in and around the Jama Masjid area.

Police said the cameras would be installed in a pattern which assures that areas such as Chawri Bazar, Haus Qazi, Cycle Market and Meena Bazar can be under electronic surveillance 24x7.