It is indeed a matter of grave concern that most police stations in Assam have not installed CCTVs as required under a directive issued by the Supreme Court of India in December 2020. In that order, the Supreme Court mandated the installation of CCTVs in police stations, giving specific directions on the storage of the information thus collected. It had also specified locations in police stations where such CCTVs should be installed. But, as reported on the front page of the Sunday edition of this newspaper, most police stations in Assam have failed to install CCTVs. According to a directive issued by the Supreme Court of India in 2020, each police station should have CCTVs at entry and exit points, inside and outside lockups, the inspector’s room, etc. According to the apex court’s directive, each of the 346 police stations in the state should have at least six to seven CCTVs. Quoting the “Status of Policing in India Report 2023” released recently, this newspaper has reported that till January 2022, the police stations in the state had only 558 CCTV cameras, whereas, in reality, there should have been at least 2000 CCTVs in place. It is important to note that CCTV cameras have a significant impact on reducing the crime rate, apart from having a deterrent effect on torture in custody and custodial deaths. In comparison to Assam, police stations in Gujarat have so far installed 14,354 CCTV cameras, Madhya Pradesh has 32,031, Telangana has 2.82 lakh, West Bengal has installed 7,772, and even a small state like Mizoram has installed 730 CCTVs so far. One recent incident in which CCTVs, if installed properly in all police stations, would have immensely helped in saving a life is the one in which a lady sub-inspector of the Assam Police lost her life. While the exact cause of her death is yet to be ascertained, it is common sense that the presence of CCTVs would have not only led to her alleged murder but would have also exposed the alleged nexus between police personnel and criminal elements. With CCTVs in place, complaints of police officers misbehaving with complainants and refusing to receive FIRs would also definitely come down. While failure to install an adequate number of CCTVs in police stations in Assam is only one aspect pointed out in the “Status of Policing in India Report 2023”, it is probably time the Chief Minister takes a call on the status of policing in Assam, especially in the light of the recent Nagaon incident.