Tamil Nadu Upgrades Police CCTVs While Andhra Railway Police Recover Stolen Assets

In a series of major law enforcement and judicial developments across South India, police departments in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have deployed advanced technology to address systemic compliance and local crime. In Chennai, the Madras High Court was informed that Tamil Nadu has successfully equipped 1,071 of its 2,100 police stations with high-capacity CCTV systems capable of retaining footage for 18 months, in line with landmark Supreme Court directives.

in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a joint operation by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) culminated in the recovery of 120 lost or stolen mobile phones valued at approximately ‹25 lakh. Alongside this recovery, railway authorities in Vijayawada dismantled an inter-state narcotics smuggling ring, highlighting the dual focus of regional law enforcement on digital tracking and physical security.

Tamil Nadu Director General of Police and Head of Police Force (DGP/HoPF) Mahesh Kumar Agarwal formally presented a status report to Justice V. Lakshminarayanan of the Madras High Court on Thursday, September 10, 2026. The report detailed the state's phased implementation of comprehensive closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance across its vast policing network. This judicial scrutiny follows a directive issued by the High Court last week, which sought to verify whether police stations across Tamil Nadu were strictly adhering to the Supreme Court's 2021 mandate requiring 18 months of continuous footage retention.

Assistant Inspector General of Police L. Balaji Saravanan, who filed the report on behalf of the DGP, outlined the substantial progress made in upgrading the state's law enforcement infrastructure. Out of 2,100 active police stations and specialized units in Tamil Nadu, 1,071 have now been fully upgraded to meet the stringent 18-month storage threshold. This represents a significant technological leap from the previous digital video recording systems installed between 2013 and 2022 across 1,624 stations, which were only capable of retaining footage for a limited window of 15 to 45 days.

The technical overhaul involves equipping each designated police station with six high-definition Internet Protocol (IP) cameras. According to the DGP's status report, these cameras are equipped with night vision capabilities, dual audio and video recording, and dedicated local storage servers. The physical placement of these cameras is strictly regulated to ensure maximum transparency and accountability, covering critical areas including the station reception, the verandah or central hall, the Inspector's cabin, the Sub-Inspector's cabin, the writer's desk, and the lock-up rooms.

The scope of this massive infrastructure project spans multiple categories of law enforcement facilities across Tamil Nadu. The state's 2,100 stations include 1,362 standard Law and Order police stations, 244 All Women Police Stations, 47 Railway police stations, and 447 specialized units authorized to register First Information Reports (FIRs). By systematically upgrading these facilities, the state aims to eliminate blind spots in custodial environments and ensure verifiable records are available for judicial review.

The financial and administrative mechanisms driving this upgrade began in earnest in December 2024, when the Tamil Nadu state government accorded formal financial sanction to enhance storage capacities in 1,567 police stations. While work was completed in 1,071 stations during the 2025-26 financial year, the state is currently preparing to award contracts for the remaining 507 stations. The procurement and execution of these works are being managed through the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), a state-run agency.

In addition to upgrading existing setups, the state plans to install entirely new CCTV surveillance systems with 18-month storage capacities in 476 police stations and specialized FIR-registering units. These units include highly sensitive offices such as the Prohibition and Enforcement Wing, the Economic Offences Wing, the Civil Supplies-CID, the Coastal Security Group, the Crime Branch-CID, the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau CID, the Q Branch, and the Central Crime Branch. The status report noted: "The above CCTV-related works are being undertaken through ELCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu). The tender process is currently at an advanced stage and is nearing finalization/award of contract to the successful vendor. After award of the contract, the vendor is required to execute and complete the work within a period of two months."

The court's inquiry was originally triggered by a complaint from senior counsel R. Shunmugasundaram, assisted by advocate Shakeena Abdul Gafoor, regarding the lack of 18-month CCTV backup at the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) office in Coimbatore. Addressing this gap, DGP Agarwal clarified that the DVAC does not operate under his jurisdiction but falls under the Human Resources Management (HRM) department. Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani informed the court that the DVAC is currently awaiting the sanction of funds to upgrade its offices statewide.

Parallel to the systemic reforms in Tamil Nadu, railway law enforcement in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh demonstrated the practical utility of digital tracking. In Vijayawada, Deputy Superintendent of Railway Police (DSRP) R.G. Jaya Surya announced the successful recovery of 120 lost or stolen mobile phones, collectively valued at approximately ‹25 lakh. These devices had gone missing or were stolen over the past three years from key transit hubs, including the Eluru, Gudivada, Machilipatnam, and Vijayawada railway stations.

The recovery operation was a collaborative effort between the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF). Displaying the recovered handsets to the media, Inspectors of Railway Police J.V. Ramana and M.V. Durga Rao explained that the IT core team utilized advanced tracking technology to trace the missing devices across various networks. RPF Inspectors Fateh Ali Baig and K. Madhusudhan Rao used the opportunity to issue a public advisory, urging train passengers to secure their personal belongings, avoid leaving phones unattended near windows, and refrain from leaving devices charging overnight without supervision.

Beyond asset recovery, the Andhra Pradesh railway police executed a major anti-narcotics operation at the Vijayawada railway station. Acting on directives from Inspector General of Police (IGP) Railways B. Raja Kumari and Superintendent of Railway Police Rahul Dev Singh, a joint team comprising the GRP and the specialized EAGLE police conducted coordinated raids. The operation successfully busted an active inter-state ganja smuggling syndicate, resulting in the seizure of contraband valued at approximately ‹19 lakh.

Five individuals were arrested during the raids: Pratap Chhatria, Pramood Chhatria, and Bishikeshan Jani, all residents of Odisha, alongside Prakash and Yogesh, who hail from Karnataka. According to GRP Circle Inspector Ramana, the syndicate was actively transporting the contraband across state lines. Crime Intelligence Branch Circle Inspector (CIB-CI) Madhusudhan Rao confirmed that a sixth suspect, identified as Teju, the wife of Yogesh, managed to evade arrest and remains at large. "Another accused, Teju, wife of Yogesh, is absconding," Madhusudhan Rao stated.

Following these developments, immediate administrative and investigative next steps have been set in motion. In Tamil Nadu, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan has directed the Secretary of the Human Resources Management department to file a detailed report within one week explaining the delay in sanctioning funds for the DVAC's CCTV upgrades. This order ensures that anti-corruption offices will be held to the same transparency standards as standard police stations.

in Andhra Pradesh, railway police teams have launched a targeted manhunt to apprehend the absconding suspect, Teju, while initiating the legal process to return the 120 recovered mobile phones to their rightful owners. To prevent future thefts, Railway Crime Records Bureau (RCRB) Circle Inspector M. Ashok issued a critical directive to the public: "If a mobile phone is stolen, passengers are requested to lodge a complaint by dialling 139, or at the nearest police station and freeze the bank account immediately."