LCD TV stollen from platform

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BANGALORE, February 20, 2013

LCD TV at railway station stolen amid ‘tight security’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT  

Police personnel attribute lapse to blurred CCTV footage

BRAZEN THEFT:The LCD display units announce the arrival and departure of trains.— PHOTO: K. MURALI KUMAR

Making a mockery of the security apparatus at the City Railway Station, a middle-aged man on Monday helped himself to a 32-inch LCD display unit put up at the busy Platform No.7.

He not only walked past the dozens of security personnel but also did not attract the attention of police personnel who are expected to monitor CCTV footage round the clock.

Embarrassed police personnel attributed the lapse to blurred CCTV footage.

However, Monday’s theft, in full public view, was not the first.

In August last year, two 22-inch LCD display units installed in the subway had been similarly spirited away by a man.

Then also the police trotted out the same excuse.

The LCD display units announce the arrival and departure of trains. Basavaraj Hullahalli, who represents the private agency that had installed the LCD units, has filed a complaint at the city railway police station.

In his complaint, he said the unit was stolen from one of the busiest areas near the canteen that is open 24/7.

The suspect appears to have struck after the security staff had completed the routine check in the morning.

Though the Railways installed CCTV cameras and metal detectors in the wake of threat perception sounded across the country last year, many cameras are of poor quality and some are defunct. Moreover, metal detectors installed at the entry and exit points have been sent for repair, said a senior police officer at the city railway station.

“We have [compensated] by deploying additional forces who are on guard round the clock. The theft is unfortunate,” a police official said.