Ujjain: Surveillance system to track criminals during Simhastha

Intensifying security preparations in view of Simhastha, Ujjain police are going to install face detection cameras at strategic points that would sound alerts if the face of a person captured by the camera resembles images of any goon stored in the database.

Intensifying security preparations in view of Simhastha, Ujjain police are going to install face detection cameras at strategic points that would sound alerts if the face of a person captured by the camera resembles images of any goon stored in the database.

Ujjain police are going to install face detection cameras at strategic points during Simhastha. (HT file photo)

Besides, crowd control security would be another challenge for the police as over five crore devotees are estimated to throng Ujjain during the month-long event.

Fourteen spots in the city have been identified where face detection cameras would be put. ASP (Simhastha security) Manish Khatri told HT that images captured by cameras would be received in server computers to be installed at the control room.

Advanced software would try matching these images with the already stored images of history-sheeters and listed anti-socials. Any resemblance found on one or more criteria would trigger automatic alarms and cops monitoring the CCTVs would come in for further investigation. Data on available images of criminals at all police stations in major cities of the state are being used for this purpose, he added.

Cameras counting people would also be installed at 14 spots through which number of arrived pilgrims would be calculated. As the figures would be near to the actual one, it could benefit in making arrangements in later days of the event, Khatri said.

Similarly, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras would be put on all roads leading to Ujjain. Over 500 dome cameras have also been placed to monitor the flow of pilgrims and divert them to alternate routes in case heavy congestion occurs on a particular route. The dome cameras had proved useful in the last Simhastha in 2004, said superintendent of police Manohar Singh Verma, who was an ASP at that time.

AN EYE ON HISTORY SHEETERS

Images captured by cameras would be tallied with data on criminals by advanced software

Resemblance on one or more criteria would sound alarms and cops monitoring CCTVs would be deployed for probe

Cameras counting people would also be installed at 14 spots though which number of arrived pilgrims would be calculated, thus helping in making arrangements in coming days of the fair

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras would be put on all roads leading to Ujjain

500 dome cameras are already active