Post rape, Kon Covid centre gets CCTV

Panvel Municipal Corporation clears proposal to enhance the security at the facility

Following the alleged rape of woman inside the Covid Care Centre at Kon village in Panvel in July, the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) set up CCTV cameras and intercom facility at the CCC in Kon.

Sudhakar Deshmukh, municipal commissioner of PMC confir med that the system has been installed and it will start operating very soon. At present, only asymptomatic and mild symptom Covid-19 patients are accommodated at the facility.

In July, a 40-year-old woman, a suspected Covid19 patient was allegedly raped by another suspected Covid-19 patient. The incident had raised questions on the security arrangement at the CCC and also why men and women patients were housed in the same building.

After the incident, the civic body had for med a high-level committee, consisting of six women members to coordinate with the municipal corporation, police and the district administration, and recommend security measures require

As part of the security measures, the committee suggested installing CCTV cameras on all floors of the building. “On each floor, CCTV cameras have been installed to check unwanted movement of people,” said Deshmukh. He added that the civic body will also set up an intercom in each room so that patients do not need to come out of their rooms if they require any help.

After the incident, men and women are being accommodated separately and access in the building where women are accommodated has been restricted. In fact, even civic staffs have to mention entry and exit time while accessing the women building. There are four towers of which two are reserved for women patients only.

According to the civic body, there is a CCTV camera outside the tower. However, there was no CCTV camera inside the building. “There was already plan to install CCTVs at every floor of the building to keep a vigil on every movement,” added the official.