India, July 29 -- Delhi Police have registered two additional FIRs at the Parliament Street Police Station over the alleged theft and vandalism of CCTV cameras during the recent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests, taking the action separately from the 20 FIRs already lodged in connection with law and order violations. According to police, the fresh cases were registered after examining evidence, including videos purportedly showing protesters damaging and removing CCTV cameras installed in and around the protest site. Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma said the offences relating to the CCTV cameras would be investigated independently and would not be clubbed with the existing FIRs linked to the protests.
"Based on the evidence, we have registered two FIRs. These are not related to the FIRs already registered in connection with the protests. They cannot be clubbed together, as these concern the theft and vandalism of CCTV cameras," Sharma said. Police said videos circulating on social media allegedly show individuals pulling cameras from their mounts and damaging them. In one video, an accused is purportedly seen carrying a stolen CCTV camera to his house while others remove another camera from its stand. Sharma said investigators were examining all available footage to identify those responsible. Besides the videos circulating online, police have also collected footage from nearby sources, including other CCTV cameras, which will form part of the evidence. "We are collecting all available evidence, including videos recovered from various sources, to investigate the vandalism of the CCTV cameras and identify those responsible for damaging public property," he said.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and action will be taken once the accused are identified and the evidence has been thoroughly examined. They added that those found responsible for damaging public property would face legal action.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.