Sivaganga police officer develops online platform to track suspicious vehicles

The platform, ‘Tollscope’, intends to link all toll plazas in the State so that an alert can be issued when any vehicle involved in a crime passes through

Sivaganga Superintendent of Police R. Rohith Nathan

Superintendent of Police R. Rohith Nathan, a mechanical engineer by qualification but passionate about software, has developed ‘Tollscope’ an online platform, a first of its kind in the country, to track the movement of suspicious vehicles and vehicles involved in crimes when they pass through toll plazas.

After Director General of Police (DGP) J. K. Tripathy gave his nod for the project, the SP developed the platform in collaboration with WBC, a Karaikudi-based software company, and with technical assistance from his colleagues, in a record time of 45 days. He unveiled the online platform at the District Police Office (DPO) on Friday.

“We have developed this pilot project on ‘MongoDB’, a cross platform document-oriented database programme at a very low cost and won the appreciation of the DGP,” a jubilant Mr. Rohith, said. He had already showcased his prowess in software engineering by introducing the e-beat system in the district to improve the beat police patrolling system.

After he mooted the ‘Tollscope’ idea, the DGP had sanctioned the project and a team of experts led by him got the pilot project ready at the very low cost of about Rs. 5 lakh, the SP said. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) R. Krishnaraj and Technical Inspector of Police Mariraja had assisted him in the project. The DGP was happy about the product and was keen on taking it to the next level, the SP said.

After mapping 20% of the toll plazas in the State, he cross checked, live, vehicle data with the police criminal database – the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS), he said. If any vehicle involved in a crime passed through a toll plaza, the system would alert the control room, he said.

Suspicious vehicles could also be tracked using the platform, he said. A red flag would come up in the system at the toll plaza when such vehicles passed through, he said adding that the alert would be vital in handling sensitive cases such as terror attacks, kidnapping and smuggling.

Once all the 49 toll plazas in the state were linked, the platform could be rolled out to the State police after setting up a centralised control room in Chennai, he said. The platform would help the police drastically reduce the investigation and response time and vastly improve efficiency, he said. ‘Tollscope’ could be implemented at the national level to bring about a paradigm shift in policing, he suggested.