Twisha Sharma case CCTV timestamp glitch not manipulation, claims technician

The technician who installed the CCTV system at the residence of former judge Giribala Singh has denied allegations of tampering in connection with the death of Twisha Sharma, claiming that discrepancies in the footage timestamp were caused by a software issue.

Speaking on Friday, CCTV installer Vinod Vani said the surveillance system at the residence was running “two days, two hours and 20 minutes behind” because the software had not been updated in time.

Vani said he had originally installed eight CCTV cameras at the residence in 2023 and was contacted following the incident on 12 May.

“At first, I did not know what had happened. Usually, we receive calls regarding thefts or requests to retrieve footage,” he said.

According to Vani, former judge Giribala Singh contacted him on 13 May while police officials were already at the residence. Unable to visit personally, he asked one of his employees, Rohit Vishwakarma, to inspect the system.

“He later informed me that the matter was much more serious,” Vani said, adding that he subsequently instructed his staff to hand over the recordings to the police.

Rejecting suggestions of manipulation, Vani insisted that the footage remained intact despite the timing discrepancy.

“This was not tampering. It was purely a software problem. Had the system been serviced and updated on time, this issue would not have happened,” he said.

He also stated that nearly one terabyte of footage had been stored in the system and that the recordings were complete.

Following the seizure of the CCTV equipment by investigators, Vani said a new surveillance system was installed at the residence two days later to allow continued monitoring if required by authorities.

Rohit Vishwakarma, the technician sent to inspect the footage, also said the timestamp mismatch stemmed from lack of servicing rather than interference.

“When I reached the house, police and administrative officials were already there,” Vishwakarma said. “They asked me to access the recordings, and I showed them footage between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The time difference occurred because the system had not been serviced.”

The statements come amid continuing investigations into the circumstances surrounding Twisha Sharma’s death.

With IANS inputs