Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing the 26th All India Fingerprint Conference on Friday, said that the tenure of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) chief Alok Ranjan would be written in golden letters in the history of both the NCRB and the criminal justice system.
NCRB’s Role Praised
Shah said that under Ranjan’s leadership, the NCRB has become a vital pillar in the entire process from data collection to securing convictions, working closely with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and the Home Ministry. He said the NCRB has not only guided police forces like a mother figure but has also trained them across every state for capacity building, resulting in smooth functioning at police stations nationwide following the implementation of new criminal laws, regardless of which political party is in power.
Conference Focus Areas
The fingerprint conference is deliberating on fingerprint science, the training framework for the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), manpower, modern technology, and how this entire system can be leveraged to secure convictions.
Shah’s Remarks on Criminal Justice Reform
Shah said that since independence, the role of police stations in crime control has grown significantly, with police exercising considerable control over the entire process from investigation to producing accused before courts. He said the time has come to make the criminal justice system an effective tool for every citizen to access their constitutional rights, stressing that any system in which a criminal escapes punishment for years despite violating someone’s rights over body, property, or dignity is fundamentally unjust.
2019 Reform Campaign
Shah noted that the government launched a campaign in August 2019 to overhaul criminal justice laws, modernise them, integrate science and technology, and ensure that every FIR reaches its logical conclusion with conviction delivered within three years.
