The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a Central government initiative to provide Aadhaar to citizens for welfare schemes, can also share information with the security agencies if needed for investigations, Deputy Director-General of UIDAI Ashok Dalwai said.
Delivering his keynote address at the valedictory of the two-day all-India conference of directors of fingerprint bureaus in Bangalore on Tuesday, Mr. Dalwai said though the data collected by the UIDAI is confidential, it can be shared on the basis of court orders and particularly for cases relating to national security.
There have been several instances in the recent past when the UIDAI has helped police from Delhi, Mumbai and Rajasthan when they come to its offices seeking help on matching the fingerprints of the suspects.
Citing an example, Mr. Dalwai said a Rajasthan police team, armed with the court order, had sought help to trace a suspect and the victim of a kidnap case.
The UIDAI, which has data pertaining to 32 crore citizens, was able to provide details of the victim, but not of the accused. “The accused had not registered with us,” he said.
Convergence soon
Additional Director-General of Police (Crime and Technical services) A.M. Prasad had earlier told the gathering that the UIDAI would eventually “converge” with the Police Department over a period of time
Explaining the foolproof data collection and verification system of the UIDAI, Mr. Dalwai said it has overtaken the U.S. in terms of largest database records and it is the first of its kind of service in the country which includes transgenders.
Training
Newly recruited police officers across the country would now be trained in fingerprint technology as the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has recommended all the State police heads to include the technology in police training colleges and include the subject as part of the curriculum.
Director-General and Inspector-General of Police Lalrokhuma Pachau proposed the vote of thanks.
