Info panel rejects claim that CCTV footage in police station got auto-deleted

The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has rejected the claim of the Tiruvallur police that footage of CCTV installed in a police station got auto-deleted. 

Coming down heavily on the Tiruvallur Town police for not providing CCTV footage requested by Kothandan of Thirumullaivoyal in Chennai, the commission said that the Public Information Officer had failed in his duties by not securing the data requested by the petitioner.  

Mr Kothandan, who visited the police station on October 14, 2024, alleged that his mobile phone was taken away from his possession and crucial data, evidences and some documents stored in it were erased by the policemen without his consent. The next day he submitted a petition under the Right to Information Act, 2005, asking for the footage from the CCTV installed in the police station. 

When the police did not share the data within the stipulated time and no response was forthcoming from the First Appellate Authority, the petitioned filed an appeal before the TNIC. 

When the matter came up for hearing, the State Information Commissioner R. Priyakumar said the PIO should have secured the data requested by the petitioner since he wanted it the very next day of his visit. The stand that the footage got auto-deleted due to storage capacity was not acceptable, he said. 

He directed the supervisory officer to conduct an inquiry with the PIO and explain why penalty and disciplinary action should not be taken against him for dereliction of duty.

Mr Priyakumar relied on the guidelines issued by the Director General of Police in 2020 wherein all Commissioners and Superintendents of Police were told to ensure that CCTV system had 20 days of recording. In the event of any video footage required, the same should be done with the knowledge of CoPs/SPs for the specified period of operation. 

The instructions were issued by the DGP amidst reliable information that some persons had deleted or edited video footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed in police stations.