JAMMU: A Jammu based human rights activist today filled a petition with the State Human Rights Commission seeking direction to the State Government to install Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in all police stations of the state in order to check rights abuses by police.
In his petition Deepak Sharma has averred that the police, who is entrusted with the task of maintaining law and order, usually takes recourse of third degree methods i.e. torture and excessive use of force during investigation which sometimes even results in deaths and refusal to register the complaints/F.I.R even in the most heinous offences like rapes etc. reported to police and in the absence of any proof of such illegal actions, the erring police officials are not punished.
Sharing details of the petition, Sharma said that to avoid the human rights violations in Police Stations, it has been prayed in the petition that appropriate directions be issued to the respondent to install Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at all the police stations of the State with the idea of thereby providing adequate safeguards against the police atrocity or custodial violence and to police the police.
Sharma further states that because of the instances of harassment, torture and illegal detentions in police stations, there is unjust fear in the mind of common man who sometimes even avoid going to police stations to report any crime meted out to them and the faith can be re imposed by adopting such people friendly measures.
Brushing aside any financial strain being put on the State Government for installing CCTVs in all police stations, Sharma said that there are only 193 police stations in the state and just by allotting a small budget the project can be completed and human rights violations in Police Stations can be avoided and moreover it would add to security of the Police Stations as well.
