A team of experts from the Interpol is all set to establish its centre here to make its database available to India's law enforcement agencies for the duration of the Commonwealth Games, to be held in the Capital from October 3.
The security set-up is envisaged to be roughly like the one established at South Africa's International Police Co-ordination Centre (IPCC) in Pretoria during the FIFA World Cup 2010. Police officers from the participating countries in the Commonwealth Games will be able to liaise with their national administrations as well as with the five-member team from Interpol, the international police organisation, which will be in the Capital this week.
The aim is to help secure the mega event by making critical data on wanted criminals and stolen travel documents accessible to the key security agencies in India, government sources said.
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Sources in the security establishment said the objective was to make available hands-on access to Interpol's services and its voluminous database throughout the Games. Though In India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is designated the National Crime Bureau of the country to liaise with the Interpol.
One of the gravest threats for major events is terrorists and other international criminals using falsified, stolen or lost passports to conceal their identities and enter the country to perpetrate their crimes. As an e-mail by the Indian Mujahideen (IM) to several media organisations on Sunday claimed that it was making preparations to strike during the Games and the Home Ministry took stock of the situation, the sources said that such an event was an enticing platform for terrorists to send across their negative and disturbing message.
“To address the threat of terrorism and other cross-border crime, Interpol's objective is to make sure that cutting-edge policing tools are accessible and at the ready across the country, strategically placed in the hands of the field officers who need to identify potential security threats,” according to the organisation's website, which had taken note of security measures during the FIFA World Cup.
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Easily the most watched event, FIFA World Cup saw security teams conducting nearly 600,000 on-the-spot checks against Interpol's databases which contain data on more than seven million motor vehicles, nearly 22 million stolen or lost travel documents and more than 63,000 wanted persons.
Instant access
Through hands-on connection to I-24/7 - interpol's global police communications system, law enforcement agencies will have instant, direct access not only to Interpol's databases but also its secure network enabling the exchange of urgent messages and vital police data such as fingerprints, images and wanted persons notices with any of Interpol's 188 member countries.