Following the brutal murder of IT employee Swathi in Chennai, in a bid to increase security, Railway officials have sent a proposal to the ministry to install CCTV cameras at five major railway stations under the Salem Railway Division (SRD).

The absence of CCTV cameras at the Nungambakkam railway station had proved to be a major hindrance in the police investigations into the murder that shook the entire state.

Coimbatore Junction is the only major railway station in the SRD, which is under CCTV surveillance, round the clock. According to a higher official of the SRD, five stations – Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Karur, and Mettur – will be fitted with a total of 246 cameras.

While 54 cameras will be fitted in Salem Junction, Erode will be equipped with 76 cameras, 55 in Karur, 21 in Mettur, and 40 cameras will be installed in Tirupur Junction.

“The proposal has been presented under the ‘Nirbhaya Fund.’ It will take time for the cameras to be installed as the project is still in the preliminary stage,” the official added.

Coimbatore Junction currently has 72 cameras, including CCTV and baggage scanner. 40 police personnel patrol the station on shift basis. Every day, 24 trains pass through the junction. More than 32,000 commuters use the junction.

Other important junctions in Coimbatore, including Podanur and North Coimbatore, will have to wait for a while for their CCTV cameras. While a proposal has been made by the local staff to fit cameras at smaller stations too, higher officials have denied forwarding such a plan.

Meanwhile, an official of the Coimbatore Railway Police has said that crime rate in the region was not all that high. There were only petty crimes like mobile phone thefts, he clarified.

“Around 40 theft cases were registered in 2015, and 16 cases were filed this year,” the official added.