Special cameras on Nepal frontier

TT, Siliguri: The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) will install face scan and vehicle number plate cameras at Panitanki on the Nepal border early next year.

The equipment will help monitor the movement of people better and assist the border force that guards the frontier with Nepal in curbing smuggling and other crimes more effectively, SSB officials said.

"We have decided to install at least 10 such cameras. These cameras will record the faces of passengers and the vehicle number plates. This will help in investigations and detection of criminals," said Rajiv Rana, the commandant of the SSB's 41st battalion. He was speaking at Ranidanga, the battalion headquarters on the outskirts of Siliguri.

SSB sources said four cameras were in place at Panitanki, two of them Internet-based and the rest normal CCTVs. Once the new cameras are installed, they can be monitored from the battalion headquarters. Also, the new cameras will have more storage capacity, the sources said.

"We are working to prevent cross-border crimes like trafficking and smuggling. In past six months, we have rescued trafficking victims in at least 16 cases," said Rana.