Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the government will soon install CCTV cameras across key high-density tourist locations, terming it a top priority investment to strengthen public safety. He said the state may require at least a thousand cameras, adding that while not all cameras are under state control, wherever required, additional installations will be made and technologies will be adopted to improve overall surveillance.
Addressing the media, Chief Minister Sangma stressed the importance of bolstering public safety infrastructure following the shock and grief sparked by the recent incident that rattled Meghalaya’s image as a safe and tourist-friendly destination.
“It (CCTV) is an important investment and we will give it priority and we will ensure that we can put maximum cameras and we will do it at the earliest atleast in the important locations and high density tourists locations,” he said.
Acknowledging the need for a comprehensive surveillance framework, the Chief Minister revealed that the state could require a minimum of over a thousand CCTV cameras. “There may be requirements of more than—I’m just saying—I have not done a detailed study, but definitely I can tell you in a ballpark figure that we will require minimum at least thousand plus cameras to be put in place and it is obviously not so simple and it requires funding, different aspects are there and keeping in mind the recent turn of events taking place in Meghalaya,” he stated.
Explaining the current landscape of surveillance in the state, Sangma noted, “Certain places CCTV cameras are community-based, while in certain places the CCTVs are in the hand of the local people who run the locations, so it’s not in the 100 percent state control. Wherever the CCTVs are under state control, there we will give full attention and wherever it is necessary to improve, we will improve. And wherever additional CCTV cameras need to be installed to increase the security, we will install CCTV cameras and we will take up steps in that line.”
He further emphasized the integration of technology for centralized monitoring. “Today the way we have installed CCTV cameras under ICCC, in similar way, we have plan to install CCTV cameras in the entire state and put different connections and in a centralized place we will take its feed and the centralized system that we have made, we have to install CCTV cameras and add connection,” he said.
He urged cooperation from private stakeholders such as hotels, restaurants and local tour operators. “As I said, all cameras we don’t control—certain areas the CCTV belongs to Government and in certain areas CCTV cameras belong to private individuals, personal tour operators and hotels, restaurants—but we will try to tell them that those who have CCTV cameras should also share live feed so that whenever needed we can use the recording and information can be retrieved.”
Reacting with visible sorrow to the ongoing case involving the Indore couple who vanished in Nongriat after checking out of Homestay on May 23, Sangma said, “This is a very, very unfortunate incident and it is something that we have not seen in Meghalaya before—this kind of incident. It has taken all of us by surprise and all of us by shock, in fact. Even the local people are very surprised. The local stakeholders in the tourism sector are very surprised and very concerned.”
While expressing his condolences to the bereaved family, the Chief Minister assured that the government was committed to unearthing the truth. “We are working overtime to make sure that we get to the facts and the depth of really what happened. We’re not very clear as of now—what the sequence of events were, what happened, how it happened. We are still looking for the wife also of the individual whose body was found.”
The Chief Minister said the tragedy had united the entire state in sorrow and action. “It’s not just the government and the police, the entire society, the entire community, and the entire stakeholders have deeply gotten involved in this because now it is a matter that is of great importance to all of us.”
Responding to the family’s demand for a CBI probe, Sangma remarked, “It is important to get into the facts of the situation—very, very important—and the truth must come out. Therefore, whatever steps that are required as per the situation, we will take appropriate decisions. Right now it’s too early to say what’s happening and how much we know and how much we don’t know. There’s so many missing links and factors even now as we speak.”
He reiterated the administration’s resolve: “We will leave no stone unturned to get out the facts and to make sure that the people who are responsible for this should be brought to books.”
While urging caution against premature conclusions, he said, “Let the investigation continue, let the facts come out, let the details come out and then we will see how to move forward.”
Confronting concerns over the impact on the tourism sector, Sangma emphasized the state’s long-standing hospitality record. “It’s an unfortunate incident. Obviously, some people may try to bring that into the factor but we all know that Sohra and the entire state of Meghalaya has always been known for pro-tourism activities. Yes, there are incidents once in a while that have happened, but at large, overall, we have seen that Meghalaya and its people are very, very receptive to tourists.”
He added, “I want to assure the family members that we will do everything we are already doing and we will continue to do everything in our capacity to find out the truth and make sure that justice is done.”
Earlier, the district police had confirmed the suspected homicide. Terming it a “clear case of homicide,” the Superintendent of Police ViVek Syiem had said, “The person has been murdered — there is no question about it. We have registered a case for murder, common intention, and for destruction of evidence and non-disclosure, since the body was thrown, there was an attempt to hide all sorts of evidence.”
As the investigation continues and teams intensify their search for the missing woman, the state government is preparing for sweeping reforms in surveillance to restore public confidence and safeguard its status as a tourist haven.
