‘Law enforcement must rely on digital forensics & tech, not third degree’ | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Stating that law enforcement agencies need to rely on technology, data, information and digital forensics for investigation and not redundant “third-degree” methods, home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the National Investigation Agency has been tasked with preparing databases on seven counts — narcotics, hawala transactions, arms trafficking, counterfeit currency, bomb blasts, terror funding and terrorism.
“Preparation of a national database and allowing investigation agencies probing cases relating to the above seven fields, access to this database, while also adding state-level databases, will help both the national investigation agencies as well as the state police,” Shah said while addressing a function here to mark NIA’s 13th Raising Day.
A source later told TOI that both NIA and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will put together the national database on these specialised crimes, many have inter-state and international linkages.
Shah complimented NIA for its 93. 25% conviction rate despite it being in existence for just 13 years. He said the high conviction rate has set a gold standard for all investigative agencies to emulate.
Underlining that data, if available in silos with no connectivity or analysis, has scrap value, Shah said connected data stored in one place, with proper analysis, can facilitate not only investigation but improve conviction rates. “Intelligence Bureau, NIA and Natgrid are working on it. Only recently, we have moved a Bill to link jails with this (proposed national database),” he said adding that the Modi government was also working on a comprehensive overhaul of IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act.