Identification of Prisoners Act 1920 needs to be amended : Minister

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir on June 21, 2018,  said there is a need to amend the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920 to provide legal authority for taking of finger impressions, photographs and measurements of persons arrested. Use of technology by criminals is posing a new challenge to the police force in solving crimes, he said.

Inaugurating the 19^th All India Conference of Directors of Finger Print Bureaux at Hyderabad, the Minister said that the data base of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which has just 11.5 lakh fingerprint records needs to be expanded.  He said that fingerprint evidence is considered reliable by investigators and jurists as it is foolproof and an effective forensic tool, according to a PIB release.

The Union Minister stressed on the need to modernise the police force and said smart policing is the need of the hour, at a time when criminals have access to technology and are using it to commit crimes.  If the police force works to bring down the crime rate and ensure criminals are punished, fewer people would resort to committing crimes, he said.

Ish Kumar, Director, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), said that fingerprints are used as unique identity in many countries for solving crimes. He said the NCRB, which is a repository of crime records, needs to expand its data base very soon.

Mahender Reddy, DGP, Telangana State, said that 868 undetected cases in the state have been solved using the automated fingerprints identification system.

Hansraj Gangaram Ahir gave away Aziz-ul-Haq trophy to fingerprint experts who excelled at the All India Board Exam. He also released two books titled ‘Compendium of Finger Print equipment – 2018’ and ‘Award of excellence in identification’.