Bengaluru: A Maldivian national found his lost laptop, passport, camera equipment, foreign currency and other items within a few hours of losing them, thanks to Safety Island machines installed at several vantage points of Bengaluru city. These machines have been set up under the Safe City project.
The Ashokanagar police were successful in recovering the lost items. The recovered items belonged to a Maldivian-based photographer. Following the recovery of the laptop and currencies, the police immediately handed it over to the foreigner. The incident was reported on Monday in the Ashokanagar police station area of the city.
The Maldives team is in Bengaluru for the South Asian Football Federation Championship. Photographer Hasan Simah, who was accompanying the football team, went to Garuda Mall on MG Road in the evening with his two friends. While getting down from the auto, he forgot to take his bag containing his laptop, passport, camera equipment and Maldivian currency. When Hasan realised his folly it was, too, late. He was confused and did not know what to do. But, some local people advised him to take the help of the Safety Island Machine.
Accordingly, Hasan contacted the Bengaluru Police Control Room through the Safety Island Machine. After receiving the information, the Control Room personnel examined the CCTV footage and immediately passed on the message to the Ashokanagar police station. Immediately, the alert Hoysala police officers spotted the auto and handed over the bag containing belongings to Hasan.
City Police Commissioner B Dayanand said, "As part of the Safe City project, 30 Safety Islands have been constructed in different parts of the city. Another 20 Islands will be constructed. Monday's incident was the first instance wherein the original purpose of the Safety Island was proved. The lost bag was returned to the foreign national. Whether the auto driver carried the bag intentionally or not was a matter of investigation."
What is Safety Island?: Under the Safe City Project, Safety Island machines have been installed at 30 different places in Bengaluru city. Suppose if a woman is in distress she can press the red button, it will send an alarm directly to the Command Centre. Before this, the camera of the machine will open. As soon as the camera is switched on, the Command Centre staffer will respond immediately and rush for help with information about the local police stations. Through the camera, the staffer of the Command Centre will know what is happening at the place. It is a blue colour machine.
