Bengaluru: Habitual offenders such as pickpockets, luggage thieves and chain snatchers may soon find it difficult to go unnoticed at KSR Bengaluru Railway Station. South Western Railway has commissioned a new state-of-the-art surveillance system equipped with facial recognition and video analytics technology.The upgraded video surveillance system (VSS), launched Wednesday, comes with 168 IP-based high-definition CCTV cameras installed across the station premises — at entry and exit gates, platforms, waiting halls, foot overbridges, subways, booking counters and other vulnerable spots.What makes the system significant is its ability to automatically identify and track habitual offenders and suspected criminals moving through the station. Using facial recognition technology, the surveillance network can match faces captured on camera with a database of known offenders and immediately alert security personnel.Officials said the database already contains records of 1,086 criminals, enabling Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Govt Railway Police (GRP) to monitor suspicious movements in real time and respond faster.The video analytics (VA) feature is also capable of detecting unusual activity patterns and generating instant alerts for predefined security events, helping authorities prevent thefts and other crimes at one of south India’s busiest railway stations.With more than 2.5 lakh passengers passing through the station every day, railway authorities said the advanced surveillance network is essential to strengthen passenger safety and improve criminal tracking.“This is the first station within the zone where the system is implemented. SWR has plans to implement the system across all major stations within Karnataka in the future,” SWR chief public relations officer Manjunath Kanamadi told TOI.A 20ft×9ft video wall has also been set up at the monitoring centre, allowing RPF personnel to keep watch on station activity round the clock. According to RPF sources, the new system is expected to significantly improve the speed at which offenders are identified and apprehended, especially compared to the earlier patchy CCTV network that often made investigations difficult.“The entire VSS network and associated systems have undergone a comprehensive cybersecurity audit by STQC Bengaluru, and the system has been certified with a zero vulnerability report, ensuring compliance with cybersecurity and information security requirements,” an SWR official said.
