2 booked for Chinnaswamy CCTV sabotage ahead of IPL clash; pay dispute suspected

TWo men were engaged on sat for allegedly disqualifying o'er 240 CCTV cameras at M Chinnaswamy sports stadium before an IPL match on April 24, police said on Monday.The accused were identifed as Manjunath E (37) from Chitradurga district and Abrar (19) from Uttar Pradesh, worked for a sub-contractor linked to IVS Digital Solutions, which handled elements of the stadium’s digital infrastructure.Investigators said that preliminary enquiries found damage to critical systems, including Network Video Recorders and fibre-optic links, which created a temporary surveillance gap across entry gates, concourses, corporate areas and perimeter zones.The outage occurred before a match between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, which was one of the busiest fixtures at the venue.According to deputy commissioner of police (Central division), Akshay M Hakay the disruption was addressed in around an hour.A case was registered at the Cubbon Park Police Station. A representative of Staqu Technologies Pvt. Ltd—a Gurugram-based firm responsible for AI-driven monitoring during match days— filed the complaint, which cited video evidence allegedly showing the suspects moving through sensitive areas, including server rooms and connection hubs near the parking zone.Once inside, the pair allegedly interfered with recording systems and severed fibre connections, rendering large parts of the surveillance network inoperable.Officials said they detected the disruption during a routine inspection.The First Information Report states that the accused “intentionally mishandled and disrupted the NVR (Network Video Recorder) and fibre connections, thereby disabling the surveillance system. Additionally, they allegedly damaged all the initial setup works related to the installation. They also gained unauthorised access to restricted areas such as the server room and were seen moving suspiciously near critical zones.”“Since this incident occurred on the day of the match, it severely compromised stadium security and prevented the complainant from providing the required data or footage to the relevant authorities or agencies,” it added.Police said preliminary findings point to a possible motive related to pending payments. “These two employees had some personal grudge about the company. Maybe they had not received their payment, so they committed the act. Both accused have been identified and further action will be taken soon,” the DCP added.