India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
The futuristic Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) launched by the Punjab Police is setting new standards in modern-day policing across the nation. From tracking criminals to nabbing troublemakers, the Punjab Police has got an extra edge to make ‘Punjab safe’ using Artificial Intelligence, topped with human intelligence of the state force.
Recently, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, inaugurated the ICCC in Ludhiana, under which as many as 1,700 high-resolution cameras have been installed at 259 locations to strengthen the surveillance grid of the city, known as the ‘industrial hub’ of the country.
Punjab Police’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), established in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, utilizes AI and extensive camera surveillance, including over 1,700 cameras in Ludhiana, to enhance crime-solving capabilities and coordination between departments.
Jalandhar is emerging as another example of the success of the ICCC project. Functioning with 1,007 high-resolution cameras in the city-wide surveillance grid, the ICCC has put a positive impact on solving various cases. It helped in the movement reconstruction in the armed robbery of ₹1 crore in gold and ₹2 lakh in cash from a jewellery store in Bhargav Camp. The ICCC helped personnel synchronise 12 junction feeds simultaneously. By reconstructing the suspects’ getaway path through the city’s alleys, the police identified their hideout and recovered the stolen assets.
It also helped in digital evidence fusion during the grenade attack on the house of a former Punjab Minister and BJP leader, Manoranjan Kalia. The investigators established a complex visual trail from the crime site to the Jalandhar Railway Station. The suspect was eventually identified on footage and traced across four states through a ₹3,500 online transaction used during his escape, leading to his arrest in Delhi.
The high-resolution tracking cameras also helped in coordination. In the Santokhpura firing incident, where some assailants fired nearly 12 shots at the residence of a veterinary doctor, the high-resolution cameras recorded one suspect filming the act on a mobile phone while the other fired. Using the ICCC resolution, which involved expert coordination between the public ICCC grid and local private CCTV, details were captured and visual markers were developed to trace the suspects back through main surveillance corridors.
Following the investigation, two accused were arrested and two weapons were recovered. After AAP leader Satwinderpal Singh ‘Lucky’ Oberoi was shot dead in Model Town, the ICCC helped with recognition analysis. CCTV footage provided clear visuals of the gunman in a distinctive black hoodie and his accomplice on a black two-wheeler. This identification was cross-referenced with digital monitoring of gang responsibility claims, leading to the naming of the primary suspects in the police report. The high-fidelity identification was used to track the Western Union cash loot incident, where some masked men looted Rs 1.08 lakh from a travel shop in Harnamdas Pura. Despite the suspects wearing masks, high-fidelity cameras captured their entry and exit points. Operators mapped their pre-crime planning movements across multiple streets.
In Jalandhar alone, as many as 982 fixed cameras for continuous monitoring and perimeter security, and 15 have Pan-Tilt-Zoom for high-precision active tracking. As many as 10 have facial recognition for biometric matching at transit hubs, and 20 locations are equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots and additional sensors. The ICCC operators can filter through thousands of hours of historical footage in seconds by defining attributes such as ‘Red Shirt,’ ‘White SUV’ and even ‘Vehicle Speed.’
On this, DGP Gaurav Yadav stated, “Punjab Police has zero tolerance for organised crime and gangsters. While the force is running successful operations against criminals and gangsters on the ground, the ICCC installed in various districts of the state is helping the force work more efficiently. Punjab Police is capable of hitting the core of crime, and with recent developments our motive is pretty clear in dealing with criminals.”
The automated algorithms continuously scan over 1,000 feeds to detect predefined anomalies, including abandoned object detection for security alerts, crowd formation detection to identify illegal gatherings, and camera tampering alerts, which trigger immediate manual review.
Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police (Jalandhar) Dhanpreet Randhawa stated, “The ICCC functions as the ‘City’s Brain,’ transforming raw data into actionable intelligence for municipal and law enforcement departments. It utilises a ‘Single Pane of Glass’ dashboard, merging traffic density, crime hotspots, and municipal sensor health into a unified GIS-mapped interface. This allows seamless coordination between Police, Traffic, and Municipal services in a centralized war room environment.”
“AI has surely made things better, but the important part is to use it in the right manner. Punjab Police works round the clock to ensure a full grip over troublemakers by using the ICCC properly. It is basically a combination of artificial and human intelligence. The ICCC has given an extended arm to various projects ‘Gangstran Te Vaar’, ‘Operation Parhar’ and many more,” added Commissioner of Police (Jalandhar).
In Ludhiana, the newly inaugurated ICCC integrates multiple units under one roof, including Traffic, Police Control Room (PCR), Safe City, and Wireless units, which has significantly enhanced synergy and coordination in police working and reduced PCR response time from 15 minutes to just 7-8 minutes. In Ludhiana, under the ICCC project, as many as 1,700 high-resolution cameras have been installed at 259 locations to strengthen the city’s surveillance grid. It also possesses the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) installed at 46 different locations.
