Telangana showcases high-tech moves to reduce crime in state

Hyderabad: Using high-end technology and gadgets besides human intelligence, the Telangana state police has been able to keep tabs on terrorist activities though radicalisation of youth was a matter of concern, the Telangana state police told a conference in New Delhi on Friday.

A series of presentations, including those on the terrorism and Maoists problem in Telangana state, were made at the two-day conference on national strategies organised by the Intelligence Bureau in which DGPs and senior police officials from across the country participated. Minister of state for home affairs G. Kishan Reddy presided over the concluding session.

Among other issues, the Telangana state police also gave presentations on cyber crime and prison reforms.

TS Director General of Police M. Mahendar Reddy, Hyderabad city police commissioner Anjani Kumar, Additional DGP Ravi Gupta, IGP (intelligence) Rajesh Kumar, Warangal police commissioner V. Ravinder and SP rank officers represented the state at the seminar.

With regard to terrorism, a presentation was made by Mr Rajesh Kumar who explained in detail the steps taken to curb the menace. Sources said that during his presentation, he gave an outline of the terrorist activities in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and later in Telangana state.

Over the last few years, several youngsters who were inclined towards the Islamic State (IS) were either caught or prevented by the police from travelling to Syria to join the IS ranks. “Technology played a key role,” Mr Rajesh Kumar is understood to have stated in his presentation.

Concerns were raised about radicalisation of the youth and the material available online which tended to attract youngsters to join various terror groups. A mention was made about how more than 20 youth who were all set to join the IS were caught in the nick of time. In March 2015, a youth from Telangana, Md Toufeeq, who had joined terror ranks was killed by security forces in an encounter in Anantnag in south Kashmir.

A detailed presentation was given on Maoist activities during which the Telangana state police stated that the Maoist activities was almost nil. “Greyhounds and the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) of the state coordinate with the police of naxal-infested states like Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra which has yielded good results,” a Telangana police official said.

Another key presentation was about the Interoperable Criminal Justice System which was launched in Telangana state in 2018. The system enabled live exchange of data between courts and police which would help in expediting the process of delivering justice to the common man.

“Telangana is the first state in the country to launch this system through which chargesheets can be electronically transferred to the court in real time, enabling paperless and electronic data transfer which brings accountability and transparency,” Warangal police chief Ravinder explained.

“Our officials explained other initiatives taken by the Telangana police like Hawk-Eye, an app which empowers the common man to become citizen police, E-Petty case, which helps officers register cases immediately on the spot, COP Connect to support professional communication and collaboration among the police department and Facial Recognition System (FRS) which can help prevent crime and track down net offenders,” an IPS officer said.