07 December,2020 05:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Rida Rasheed outside Mumbra railway station, where she claims her NGO has installed a CCTV camera
The mystery of 26 CCTV cameras installed in Mumbra is getting stranger by the day. The owner of a private organisation revealed on Sunday that she had installed the cameras with funds from her NGO and the Mumbra police were monitoring them, but the cops continue to be silent on the issue.
The NGO owner says that the locations of the CCTV cameras were changed after the Mumbra police suggested new spots for them
Also, local corporator Ashraf Pathan hit out at the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) after NGO owner, Rida Rasheed said that she had installed about 140 CCTV cameras in Mumbra while the TMC claims to have set up 149.
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Rasheed, the Minority Mahila Pradesh president (BJP) of the state said that she set up the cameras with funds from her NGO - Arshiya Welfare Foundation - in 2019. Speaking to mid-day, she said, "On the occasion of 'Mahila Suraksha' day I had promised to install CCTV cameras in Mumbra for women's safety. Then I spoke to the TMC commissioner and police commissioner about it and they allowed me to set up the cameras. Using funds from my NGO I installed 140 cameras in the important areas of Mumbra and handed them over to the Mumbra police for monitoring. I have details of all the places where the cameras have been installed."
"However, the cops then asked me to shift the cameras to the places mentioned by them as they said that it would be helpful. The cameras were then shifted and the wifi facility for running them was provided by the cops. The Mumbra police have been monitoring the cameras since then. Though my organisation has been looking after the maintenance, I still haven't been told that some of the cameras are not working." When contacted, Vinod Gupta, deputy city engineer, Electrical Department of TMC, said.
'No response from cops'
"We have not got any response from the police yet but during investigation it was found out that the 26 cameras were installed by an NGO for the police. The cameras are being monitored by the police. Out of the 149 cameras installed in Mumbra, 133 are working. The remaining ones are under maintenance."
Meanwhile, Corporator Ashraf Pathan said, "The TMC said that they had installed 149 cameras and now the NGO owner says she has set up 140 cameras, then how many cameras are there in Mumbra? My concern is that the civic body has taken R5 lakh from each corporator fund and other sources, and spent R65 crore to install CCTV cameras in Thane. If the NGO has installed 140 cameras in Mumbra, then it should be investigated where the money has gone. Action should be taken against whoever is guilty."
When mid-day contacted DCP Avinash Ambure, he asked to speak to Mumbra Senior Inspector Madhukar Kad. But when Kad was contacted, he said he knew nothing about the matter. When asked whether any inquiry would be conducted, he disconnected the call. The Thane City PRO, too, refused to comment.
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