Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Nov. 17: Police have beefed up security on the busy Janpath in Bhubaneswar and Malgodown in Cuttack following a spurt in crime and advised business establishments to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

On Janpath, the police have tightened security between Vani Vihar Square and Rajmahal Square.

Additional forces have been deployed at Saheed Nagar, Kharavela Nagar and Capital police stations. The stretch between Vani Vihar Square and Rajmahal Square falls within the jurisdiction of these three police stations.

Police officials have been asked to visit the commercial establishments, especially shopping malls and banks and jewellery shops, to ensure that these units install CCTV cameras.

“We have deployed men in plain clothes near business establishments. We have also set up check posts for frisking of vehicles,” said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

Though a number of major business establishments have installed CCTV cameras, the cops said most of them were of poor quality.

“We have also asked the business establishments to trim the trees so that the cameras are able to cover more area,” said a cop.

On December 11 last year, two men on a motorcycle snatched a bag containing Rs 1.4 lakh in cash from a contractor near Sriya Square. The incident happened minutes after the contractor had stepped out of a private bank. However, the CCTV footage did not provide any clue as it was of poor quality.

Apart from thefts, chain-snatching has become a major concern on Janpath. Sources said eight cases of chain-snatching had been reported along the road in the past six months. Residents, however, blamed poor patrolling by cops for rise in petty crimes such as snatching and thefts.

“The police are busy collecting fines for traffic violation at check posts on Janpath,” said Bibekananda Jena, a city resident.

In Cuttack, the police have advised traders at Malgodown, a major business hub, to install CCTV cameras in their shops and some vantage points on the road to keep a check on crime.

There are more than 1,500 wholesale and retail traders who sale various essential commodities at Malgodown, which is the state’s largest market.

The advice to install CCTV cameras comes in the wake of the recent killing of a Malgodown trader, Md Farook Tayab. Three goons had shot the trader at his shop on November 12.

Apart from Malgodown, the police had earlier asked traders at Nayasarak and Choudhry Bazar areas, where a lot of jewellery shops are located, to install CCTV cameras.

“At a high-level meeting held recently, senior police officials asked us to install CCTV cameras in all the shops for our safety,” said Malgodown Traders’ Association joint secretary Srikant Sahu.

“A notice has been issued to all traders to install CCTV cameras and we are hopeful that Malgodown would be under round-the-clock surveillance within a month,” Sahu said.

Deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora said: “Armed security personnel have been deployed while patrolling has also been intensified at Malgodown.”