A fearful India turns to video for security

After this summer's fatal bombings, the nation's capital is protecting itself with dogs, metal detectors and cameras.

Closed-circuit television cameras mounted on a traffic light record New Delhi.

NEW DELHI // When it comes to video surveillance, New Delhi may lag behind such world capitals as London and Paris - but nothing propels the security industry quite like insecurity. Following this summer's fatal blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, which killed more than 50 people, the city is experiencing a surge in sales of closed-circuit TV cameras. About 10 men, accused of being members of the Indian Mujahideen, were arrested last week in connection with the Ahmedabad blasts. But over the weekend, the militant organisation sent an email to local TV stations promising even deadlier reprisals to come. Now the nation's capital is scrambling to protect itself with bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors - and a battery of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras. "Obviously, there is an immediate impact," said Deepak Hari, the owner of Security First Inc, a pioneer in CCTV and spy cameras for sting operations as well as biometric identification equipment. Aside from banks, airports and government offices, small shops are also keen to install digital surveillance equipment, Mr Hari said - with much of that boom a knee-jerk reaction to terrorist threats. "The first reaction is to take a step toward security, which is to monitor people. Now, the immediate need is to have these cameras installed." New Delhi may have only awakened to the importance of cameras after the painfully public Diwali bombings in 2005. Triggered by Kashmiri separatists, the blasts rattled public markets in south and central New Delhi, killing 62 people and injuring 210 more. In the aftermath, police began putting up surveillance cameras on the streets of New Delhi. Today, police monitor some 24 public spaces and markets. Authorities, however, have said that is not enough. By the end of this year, Delhi police will install 27 more cameras, to be monitored by an independent team, 24 hours a day. "One thing, which is a ray of hope in all this, is that they are not suicide attacks," said Satinder Saini, a security analyst with the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses. "Because suicide attacks defeat every security mechanism possible." A military veteran of 26 years, Mr Saini has ample experience with suicide bombers, as a former battalion leader in embattled Kashmir. The group involved in this summer's bombings, however, can be vulnerable to CCTV cameras. "These people who are placing the bombs want to get away," he said. "When terrorists actually start an attack cycle, the first step is to carry out reconnaissance. It's not like they just go and place the bomb. You will have people moving in a suspicious manner in all these places before they actually place the bomb." North America and Europe buy 65 per cent of the world's surveillance cameras. But India's security demands are increasing every year. According to global consulting firm Frost and Sullivan, the country's CCTV industry is worth about Dh290 million (US$79m), nearly a third of the overall electronic surveillance industry, which grows by 14 per cent annually. This year, Asia's largest prison, Tihar, became the first incarceration facility in India to introduce CCTV cameras, using 258 cameras to monitor inmates and staff - with an additional 200 cameras on the way. This spring, the city also installed cameras at 59 stops along its subway line. So far, concerns about privacy have been muted, likely because so much of the city remains outside of CCTV's watchful eye - a far cry from London's roughly 1,800 cameras, monitoring virtually every inch of public space. But there have been concerns about how surveillance footage will be used. The surveillance industry does not fall under any government legislation. The dearth of legislation may foster a boom in small-time operators exploiting public fears. In New Delhi, for example, there are roughly 1,000 companies offering CCTV services. The real trouble, however, may rest with who is on the other end of the camera. "The problem, I think, is that we have too much data and not enough analysis of the data, so I really don't see how more cameras are actually going to help," said Shylashri Shankar, an analyst with the Centre for Policy Research, a New Delhi-based think tank. She agrees that cameras are instrumental in crowded markets that can see as many as 100,000 people every day. But, she said, "my reservations are more about how the information is going to be used and analysed". "Police don't seem to have the proper manpower to be able to sift through the evidence. That's been our biggest problem so far." Perhaps of even greater concern is the spectre of misusing the video evidence. "The way the anti-terror laws function is you arrest someone on suspicion and then you detain them," Ms Shankar said. "I would be very worried about the use of CCTV images that you end up using to round up a whole bunch of people. "You might end up with 10 or 15 people rounded up who might have nothing to do with the person whose image was captured. And then they are detained under anti-terror laws." @Email:[e-mail]