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By:

Keshav Kumar and Prajjwal Morya

13 June 2026 at 7:42:49 am

Preventive Surveillance for Crime Prevention

India's solved cases are proving that surveillance can accelerate justice, while unresolved cases are demonstrating the devastating cost of its absence. Crimes are continuing to occur in shadows on deserted roads at midnight, inside locked rooms, and in spaces where victims are crying for help but no witness is stepping forward. Investigations are stalling, perpetrators are escaping, and thousands of criminal cases across India are remaining under trial for years because of inadequate...

Preventive Surveillance for Crime Prevention

India's solved cases are proving that surveillance can accelerate justice, while unresolved cases are demonstrating the devastating cost of its absence. Crimes are continuing to occur in shadows on deserted roads at midnight, inside locked rooms, and in spaces where victims are crying for help but no witness is stepping forward. Investigations are stalling, perpetrators are escaping, and thousands of criminal cases across India are remaining under trial for years because of inadequate evidence. In many instances, victims and their families are spending years waiting for justice, while crucial evidence disappears before investigators can secure it. This harsh reality is repeatedly surfacing in some of India’s most sensitive criminal investigations. The Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case remains one of India’s most debated unresolved investigations, where the absence of reliable surveillance and compromised forensic handling prevented a conclusive reconstruction of events. In each of these cases, the absence or failure of surveillance did not merely delay justice; it weakened the possibility of discovering the complete truth. Traditional investigative tools are increasingly proving inadequate in a technologically evolving society. Eyewitnesses are turning hostile, memories are fading, and physical evidence is degrading over time. Preventive surveillance is therefore emerging as one of the strongest pillars of modern criminal investigation. CCTV systems, facial recognition technology, drone monitoring, and digital forensics are continuously generating objective evidence that human memory cannot reliably provide. Unlike eyewitness testimony, surveillance footage does not forget, become intimidated, or alter its version of events. More importantly, the visible presence of surveillance itself discourages criminal behaviour before offences are even committed. India's experience increasingly demonstrates the value of surveillance-backed investigations. In the Nirbhaya case, CCTV footage from roads and public areas helped investigators trace the movement of the accused and establish a precise timeline. This evidence significantly strengthened the prosecution and contributed to the convictions. Similarly, in the 2022 Sidhu Moosewala murder case in Punjab, CCTV footage provided a major breakthrough. The footage showed suspected assailants refuelling a jeep allegedly used in the crime at a petrol pump between Fatehabad and Sardulgarh. The suspects' faces were clearly visible, helping investigators advance the case. Recognising the growing importance of technology-driven policing, the Government of India is increasingly investing in large-scale surveillance infrastructure. The Safe City Project under the Nirbhaya Fund is strengthening AI-enabled surveillance and emergency response systems in major cities with a focus on women’s safety. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) is digitally linking thousands of police stations to enable faster sharing of criminal intelligence and real-time access to records. The proposed National Automated Facial Recognition System (NAFRS) aims to help identify criminals and trace missing persons through centralised facial recognition databases. Meanwhile, the Smart Cities Mission is establishing integrated command and control centres across urban areas. These centres bring together CCTV feeds, traffic data and emergency response systems on a single monitoring platform. The judiciary has also repeatedly acknowledged the growing importance of electronic evidence. In Tomaso Bruno v. State of Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court observed that an adverse inference could be drawn where available CCTV footage was not produced, emphasising the importance of scientific and electronic evidence in modern investigations. Similarly, in Anvar P.V. v. P.K. Basheer, the Court reinforced the evidentiary value of electronic records under the Indian Evidence Act, giving greater legal recognition to digital and surveillance-based proof. Preventive surveillance is no longer a futuristic ambition; it is becoming an operational necessity. India’s solved cases are proving that surveillance can accelerate justice, while unresolved cases are demonstrating the devastating cost of its absence. When deployed responsibly and within legal safeguards, surveillance is not becoming an instrument of fear but a framework of accountability where truth survives longer than memory and justice finds a stronger voice. (Kumar is a retired IPS officer and forensic advisor to the Assam government. Morya is Security Operations Centre Analyst.)

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

The party won 65 seats against Congress, 37 against NCP (SP) and 29 against Shiv Sena (UBT)

Clever seat selection

Mumbai: The BJP’s strategic seat sharing with the allies has proved beneficial for the party. An analysis of the Assembly election results show that the BJP has scored over its main rival, the Congress, in a big way because of the direct fights.


The analysis shows that BJP defeated all three constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – in the direct fights. This is attributed as one of the reasons for the BJP’s historic poll success.


The BJP contested 147 out of 288 seats. In 76 constituencies, it faced Congress. BJP secured victory in 65 seats and lost only 11 seats, making it a whopping 86 per cent of the total direct fights. This was followed by an even stronger performance against NCP (SP). Of the total 39 fights with Sharad Pawar’s party, BJP captured 37 seats making it 95 per cent of the total fights with NCP (SP). BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) were head-to-head in 32 constituencies, of which BJP emerged victorious in 29 seats, making this 91 per cent of the total direct contests.


According to a BJP strategist the party had bargained hard with its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP to get the desired constituencies in the seat sharing formula. “We had studied to potential candidates of the MVA. That helped us in choosing the seats where we can register comfortable victories,” the strategist said.


BJP spokesperson Niranjan Shetty attributed the success to all the party workers who worked hard to boost development, infrastructure in the state. He gave credit to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to the party’s success.


Shetty pointed out that in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stalled all the “novel” and “legendary” projects that Fadnavis had started when he had taken over as CM, making it very easy for the people of Maharashtra to strike a comparison between both the leaders and the potential they had for serving the people. “Devendra Fadnavis gave up his post very easily for the larger good. There are many such examples like Venkaiah Naidu who was BJP National President and later worked as the Vice President of India because that was the need of the hour. We seldom care about our posts,” Shetty told The Perfect Voice.


Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe refused to call the election results as the people’s mandate. “This is not at all a Janata mandate. Despite Maharashtra struggling with so many basic social issues, how can BJP acquire such a huge mandate is the question. If a student copies and fails with just passing marks, it can go unnoticed, but if a student copies and bags the number one position, something is fishy. Why is the BJP scared of ballot papers?” he said.

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