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Panchkula CCTVs net 3,524 traffic rule violators in 10 months

PANCHKULA: If a cop can't catch you, the camera will. As many as 379 high-end CCTV cameras installed at 50 locations are helping the police nail traffic rule offenders.



A team of eight remains vigilant round the clock to assist cops as their third eye. The CCTV control room is situated on the first floor of the Sector 14 police station.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Ashok Kumar, CCTV camera control room in-charge, said 3,524 challans were issued online from January till November 5. People riding without helmet topped the list. As many 1,795 of them were fined. Next came the offence of not wearing seat belts, with 1,255 violators being challaned. As many as 205 were fined for using mobile phone while driving.

However, there is a drawback of sending challans online. Suresh Singh, challan monitoring officer, said, "Around 30-35% challans sent through the registered post have come back to us as addresses of the owners had changed." But the challan does not go waste. "The person during the renewal of registration certificate (RC) of the vehicle or at the time of the sale of the vehicle, needs to pay the challan, otherwise the process will stop," said Suresh.

Two ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) powered cameras are installed at the housing board light point and at Mansa Devi Complex (MDC). So, when cops enter a registration number on their computers in the control room, the camera automatically shows the vehicle's passing time and other details.

The CCTV cameras have also helped in solving 50 cases, including of murders, hit-and-runs, snatchings and robberies. The team also helps in solving petty crimes like house and purse thefts among others. The process to install 74 cameras in the market areas of the district is going on, said officials.

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