18 September, 2012.
Chandigarh, India.
A 17-year-old girl was returning from the market when suddenly she was grabbed and her assailant attempted to drag her into an alley. This happened right outside her own home. When the girl screamed and put up a fight the young man fled. Unknown to him there was a witness -- the CCTV camera mounted on a corner of the girl's house.
All this happened on Monday morning at about 11.30 in Badal Colony of Khuda Ali Sher. Police identified the youth as Gurvinder Singh alias Binderi, also of Khuda Ali Sher. A case of attempted rape under was registered against him and the magistrate remanded him to police custody.
Investigating Officer Ramesh Kumar confirmed that he had been charged under sections 376/512, 505, 342. Ramesh Kumar also said that Gurvinder has had several brushes with the law and has at least four criminal cases lodged against him.
The girl's mother said that the assailant is the son of a panch of the village and has many other cases registered against him. She said that in some previous incidents his influential parents had managed to get cases against him dropped. She said that he has a long standing bad reputation and many women have complained about his behaviour. She said that many families in the village have put up CCTV cameras out of fear of attack or theft. Now, with camera footage they will be able to prove the accusation against the miscreant.
This is the first time that a person attempting to commit a heinous offense has been caught in the act thanks to a CCTV camera. With more and more people installing these devices, the city may not necessarily become safer but the chance of catching culprits improves.
