Now, Lokayukta office claims it has no footage, only CCTVs

Recording disrupted in 2013

 The recording facility of the CCTV camera system, installed in 2007, in the Lokayukta office building was disrupted all of a sudden in 2013.

Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao had said on June 26 that the CCTV footage in Lokayukta office building were available and would be handed over to police. However, Lokayukta Registrar H R Deshpande on Wednesday told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the recording facility was introduced only in June 2015.

Sources said Nikhil Enterprises, an agency, had installed the CCTV system together with recording facility at the office building in 2007.  However, in 2013, the recording was disconnected.

On Wednesday, SIT officials probing corruption in the Lokayukta institution met registrar Deshpande, seeking details of the CCTV footage and the facility. When the registrar said no footage were available, SIT officials summoned the representatives from Nikhil Enterprises and questioned them about the system.

“The building has several CCTV cameras. There are three cameras at the entrance on the first floor, one at the administration section, one at the entrance of the second floor, two at the Lokayukta’s chamber, two at the visitors’ room next to the Lokayukta chamber and one on the fourth floor.

However, footage from none of these cameras were recorded for the month of May, the month crucial in the FIR registered. The agency representatives said the recording facility was available. However, it is not known when the recording was turned off,” a source said.

Lokayukta SP (City) Sonia Narang had submitted a report to Deshpande on May 11 about demand of bribe made to Executive Engineer M N Krishnamurthy.

The same day, Narang had written to Deshpande seeking CCTV camera footage recorded between May 4 and May 7, the days on which Krishnamurthy was called to the Joint Commissioner’s (PRO Lokayukta) office. However, the registrar had replied that the recording facility was installed “recently”.

Addressing the media on June 26, Justice Rao had said all CCTV camera footage will be handed over to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chandrashekhar.