The police have installed 52 high definition (HD) CCTV cameras at Chennai International Airport to tighten security after a high-profile kidnapping earlier in the year.
On 29 May 2013, British couple Ganapathy Pillai Thavaraja and his wife Jalaja Thavaraja were kidnapped by a gang posing as tour operators after arriving at Chennai Airport.
The couple, of Sri Lankan-origin, were eventually found in a village more than 100 miles from Chennai. It led the police to lead an overall review of security arrangement at the airport.
The Times of India report that the review found that existing CCTV cameras at the airport were not good enough to identify the abductors.
A delegation of senior police and airport officials devised a strategy to replace the ageing cameras with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment.
One focus was on monitoring the arrival and departure gates around the domestic and international terminals. The new 52 HD cameras are now monitored by police round-the-clock from a central control room.
P Saravanan, St Thomas Mount deputy commissioner of police, said: “We have installed the HD cameras at all entry and exit points, apart from parking areas at the airport complex.
“We have also put in place four outposts at the new arrival and departure terminals for domestic and international passengers.”
