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Bharatpol will help bring fugitives to justice: Shah
Shah said the new platform will improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement efforts
Bharatpol and systems introduced under the three new criminal laws will empower Indian law enforcement agencies to “bring fugitives to justice”, Union home minister Amit Shah said at the launch of the new platform on Tuesday.
Urging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take the lead in implementing Bharatpol and ensuring widespread training on the ground, Shah said the new platform will improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement efforts.
“For years, criminals committing crimes in India and fleeing to other countries have evaded the reach of Indian laws. However, with the implementation of modern systems like Bharatpol, they can now be brought within the ambit of justice,” Shah said.
Referring to the real-time interface of Bharatpol, Shah said it was the key feature as it will allow central and state agencies to easily connect with Interpol and speed up their investigations.
It is time that “Indian investigation agencies use modern technologies and techniques to nab and bring to justice the fugitives who absconded from India after committing a crime. We have to keep an eye on global challenges and update our internal systems. Bharatpol is a step in that direction,” he said.
Bharatpol, developed by CBI, will bring all central and state law enforcement agencies on a common portal, streamlining the processing of all requests for international assistance through Interpol, including the issuance of Red Notices and other colour-coded Interpol notices.
Shah stated that the five key modules of Bharatpol — Connect, Interpol notices, references, broadcast and resources — “provide a technological platform to support all our law enforcement agencies”.
The government has already introduced the provision of “trial in absentia” in the three new criminal laws, Shah said, enabling the prosecution of fugitive criminals even in their absence through court orders while ensuring a fair judicial process.
“This provision will simplify the process of extraditing convicted criminals from foreign countries to India… Combined with the capabilities of the Bharatpol, this new measure (trial in absentia) will empower Indian law enforcement agencies to bring fugitives to justice, no matter where they hide,” Shah said.
He asked the CBI to take the lead in implementing Bharatpol. “This will strengthen the judicial system, enhance transparency, and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement efforts.”
Bharatpol is a paperless, real-time information sharing portal for the states’ police and central agencies seeking international assistance through CBI instead of using traditional methods of letters, emails and faxes.
Developed by the CBI, which is the nodal agency of Interpol in India, Bharatpol (Broadcast Hub for Assistance and Real-Time Action against Transnational Crimes via International Police Cooperation), allows front-line police officers to easily and promptly request international assistance from 195 Interpol member countries using standardized templates. The portal enables the CBI as the NCB (National Central Bureau) to rapidly share criminal intelligence and inputs from 195 countries with all law enforcement agencies in India. It will enable easy drafting of Red Notice requests and other colour coded notices of Interpol. This will lead to effective tracking of crime, criminals and proceeds of crime globally.
At the launch event at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, Shah also presented police medals to 35 award-winning CBI officers, who were honored with the President’s police medal for distinguished service and the home minister’s medal for excellence in Investigation including agency’s former joint director (policy) Amit Kumar — currently posted in Chhattisgarh police.
During his time in CBI, Kumar was in-charge of investigating coal block cases, which led to conviction of several accused persons over the years, besides probing National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam, online child sexual abuse cases, cybercrimes and several economic frauds.
