Vijayawada: The CCTV cameras purchase for Krishna Pushkaralu and Command Control Centre in Vijayawada has lead to a controversy in the police department.
In fact, the issue which was confined only to the purchase wing for the last three months has seen the light, because of the power struggle between two senior staffers of the department. When asked about the reported anomalies in the purchases, DGP Nanduri Sambasiva Rao said the process went by tender mode only.
However, the DGP also agreed that the specific brand for which the purchase wing insisted is not available even on the Google search engine.
The successful penetration of a CCTV’s wholesale dealer into the police department in the name of supplying CCTV cameras is the origin of this controversy. The dealer made his entry into the department when a senior police officer now with AP Police, was working as DCP (Traffic) in the combined state.
Following his reported proximity with the police officer, he was able to get the contract and fixed cameras for traffic use through thorough tender procedure only, and their friendship continued.
In the later developments, the same dealer’s CCTV sales activity in a mega event conducted at Visakhapatnam has attracted the senior police officers in the department which became a controversy again.
This dealer has reportedly quoted higher price for the CCTC cameras imported from China and branded them with a name which is not even available on any search engines now.
During Krishna Pushkaralu, the CCTV installations at various ghats and Command Control Centre (CCC) got delayed and subsequently, the officer in charge of the CCC had inquired about the delay. Then the officer could come to know about the details of bidder who got the tender.
