Lucknow, Feb. 12 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh to personally inquire into repeated instances of non-functional CCTV cameras in police stations.

Observing that one instance could be treated as an accident but repeated occurrences suggested a pattern, the court invoked the adage: "Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times a pattern." It also noted that such "coincidences" surfaced particularly when courts called for footage.

The court made it clear that accountability must flow from the top, rather than lower-ranking officials being made scapegoats. It directed that the inquiry report, along with guidelines, be submitted by way of a personal affidavit of t...