Eyes Rolling

“About two months ago I had started thinking about how so many cases of chain snatching,molestation,murder etc are being reported in local newspapers. The daylight murder of activist Narendra Dabholkar disturbed me very much and I wished there was some kind of clinching evidence to nab the murderers. That is how I conceptualised the CCTV car and Al Bara device,” says Pathan,who has before this been credited for creating a solar Ganpati surveillance system and a solar-powered bike.

Starting from scratch,the 44-year-old bought a new Wagon-R and mounted atop a 100-Watt solar panel,which he then connected to four high-definition CCTV cameras,one facing each direction. The cameras have a range of upto 50 metres and their footage can be screened on the car’s rear view mirror. “CCTV cameras set up by the police are stationary and in limited places only. But with the CCTV car,as one drives around town the cameras keep catching footage. When an incident is reported from a certain area all one needs to do is check if they were driving down that place on the given day and then accordingly hand over the footage to the police,” says Pathan,adding that footage of 45 days can be stored.

The Al Bara device,on the other hand,is a small box-like instrument with four HD cameras. “It is a self-sufficient device that can be set up at any crowded placed to monitor activities within 50 metre-radius through the GPRS system. Since it’s portable,it can be easily used during Ganeshotsav,political rallies etc. For now I have set it up in the boot of my car,” says Pathan. He adds that both systems are powered by solar energy with a back up of 24 hours.

Pathan shares that he is only trying to facilitate security measures with his latest inventions. “I am not a sting operator. My car and the Al Bara device are prototypes. I have approached police authorities as well as political leaders so that they can use what I have created. I am willing to either manufacture similar systems for them or give mine out on minimal rent,” says Pathan,who is also pitching his car for a Guinness world record.

Having invested about Rs 1 lakh on the two CCTV systems,Pathan feels it is a worthy price. “People are willing to spend Rs 15-20 lakh on buying a car of their choice. I hardly think it’s a big deal to spend another lakh on and setting up such a panel so that our city is a safer place. Merely knowing that there are cameras to catch any dubious activities will also prevent miscreants from doing whatever pleases them,” he says.

About the process of building his systems,Pathan says he used to sleep only about three hours a day. “I can’t rest till I have finished creating what I have conceptualised. I am now trying to replicate the system for two-wheelers,” he says.