Jharkhand police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has requested the Superintendents of Police in all the 24 districts to ensure installation of CCTV cameras in front of liquor stores across Jharkhand in order to monitor and curb unlawful activities, CID officials said on Sunday.
The direction was passed in accordance with the Delhi Police’s initiative of installing CCTV cameras in front of liquor shops in the national capital. Additional Director General (AD), CID, Anurag Gupta said that the liquor shop owners will have to maintain CCTV footage of at least 10 days and provide them to the local police in case of any incident.
“The cameras must cover all the activities that happen within the distance of 50 feet from the shop. It can help the police identify and nab people involved in unlawful activities,” Gupta said.
Several incidents of hooliganism, brawls and even murders have been reported in the vicinity of liquor stores in Jharkhand in the past. In many places, locals also developed a habit of consuming liquor at public places in the proximity of liquor stores. The initiative will not only prevent major crimes but also put a check on the practice of consuming alcohol on footpaths and narrow lanes around liquor shops, officials said. Last year, a Government-run liquor store in Ranchi’s Bariatu had to remain closed for nearly a week after a scuffle broke out outside the store and led to vandalism of the store. The district administration also had to deploy security outside a few liquor stores in the State Capital in 2017 to keep a check on crimes.
As per figures with the Excise Department, there are more than 1600 liquor shops in Jharkhand. Out of them 565 sell country liquor, 718 sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 381 are composite liquor stores. As per the direction, all these shops will have to install CCTV cameras. “The liquor shop owners will also have to ensure every day that the CCTV is functioning and there is no technical fault in them,” said Gupta.
Delhi Police had issued the order under section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Jharkhand’s CID used the order as a template and shared it with all the SPs here. “We have asked the SPs to talk to their counterparts from the administration about it. Eventually, the Deputy Commissioners have to order the installation of cameras,” Gupta said.