Despite being projected as the “show window” of Uttar Pradesh, large stretches of Noida remain outside CCTV surveillance, raising serious concerns over public safety. Although a control room equipped with surveillance infrastructure was set up at a cost of several crore rupees, internal roads and service lanes across the city are not covered by cameras, a loophole that criminals have allegedly been exploiting to evade detection.

Over the past few years, several disturbing cases have highlighted these surveillance gaps. Among them is the recovery of a young woman’s body from a dumping ground in Sector 145, and the discovery of a headless and handless corpse in a drain in Sector 108. Many such cases remain unresolved, with investigators citing the absence of CCTV footage as a major hurdle.

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In another case involving the death of an engineer, police stated that the victim had travelled from Gurugram to Noida. However, no CCTV footage was available from the vicinity of the crime scene in Sector 150, further complicating the investigation.

Noida has 167 sectors, most of which are inhabited, and hosts offices and industrial units of major IT companies and well-known firms. Several areas function round the clock, and the city is home to people from all walks of life, including daily wage workers, professionals and celebrities.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar Authority claims that city activities, including waste collection, are monitored through 567 surveillance cameras and 717 Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. The Noida–Greater Noida Expressway and several main roads are covered under the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS). However, parallel service lanes and 45- and 60-metre-wide internal roads remain without CCTV coverage.

While authorities maintain that cameras have been installed at entry and exit points of major roads, they admit that movement through mid-points often goes undetected, allowing suspects to enter or leave areas unnoticed.

In the most recent incident, on December 28, the body of a young woman was found stuffed inside a bag amid garbage at the dumping yard in Sector 145. Her hands and feet were tied, and burn marks were visible on her face. A post-mortem conducted by the Sector 142 police confirmed strangulation as the cause of death. So far, police have been unable to identify the victim or trace those responsible, and there is no clarity on how the body was transported to the dumping site.

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The recurring lack of CCTV evidence has once again raised questions about the effectiveness of Noida’s surveillance network and the overall safety of its residents.