Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the Odisha government to install CCTV cameras in all police stations and outposts by March 31, 2025.
A division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho issued the direction on Tuesday while hearing a writ petition in connection with the alleged custodial abuse of a serving army officer and his fiancée in Bhubaneswar.
The court said that these CCTV systems must be integrated with the Central Monitoring System (CMS) through Video Management System (VMS) by the said date.
This move aims to ensure transparency and accountability in policing.
The HC also stressed on strict adherence to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) prepared by the Odisha government on arrest of and interaction with members of armed forces in police stations.The officers need to be apprised of these procedures and the SOP circulated in Odia language to all the police stations and the police outposts of the state, it said.
The affidavit filed by Dayal Gangwar Additional Director General of Police (headquarters) stated that the department has been able to integrate 96 per cent of 645 police stations with CMS of the State Police Headquarters, Cuttack.
