Amit Shah inaugurates Bhartpol network of CBI to catch the fugitives

The Union Minister for Home Affairs and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah, inaugurated the ‘Bharatpol’ portal in a function in New Delhi on 7 January 2025. The Portal is expected to become a transformative tool for the police officers in investigating crime and enable quicker assistance from Interpol to prosecute and catch the fugitives who are trying to flee abroad or have fled abroad.

The Minister also conferred the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation to 35 officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, CBI Director Praveen Sood and other distinguished dignitaries  from  the Central Vigilance Commission and Central Police Organisation were also present there.

Who has developed Bharatpol?

The Bharatpol portal has been developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and it is maintained by the CBI.

Significance of Bharatpol

CBI is the designated Indian police organisation of the INTERPOL and it has access to the crime and criminal data base of the INTERPOL’s 195 member countries.

Within the country the nodal center for INTERPOL, is within CBI’s INTERPOL's National Central Bureau. 

Within the country the Interpol liaison officers have been established at the CBI, state and the Union Territories (UT) level.

The state/UT police agencies connected to CBI through letters or emails for information which the CBI then forwarded to INTERPOL.This led to delay which enabled the accused /criminals to flee from the country.

Through Bahartpol, the state/UT police agencies can now directly access INTERPOL data base  through INTERPOL's National Central Bureau in CBI.It will enable quicker response of the law enforcement agencies to nab the accused or criminals.

Features of the Bharatpol

• Real time interface — It will enable seamless and effective communication among agencies to  expedite responses to domestic and international requests for real-time data sharing, including the issuance of Red Corner Notices and other alerts through INTERPOL’S global network.
• Five Modules - The Bharatpol has five modules- INTERPOL Notices,Connect, References, Broadcast, and Resources.
• Centralised Platform - The Bharatpol offers a unified platform to process international requests related to criminal investigations.
• Tackling Transnational Crime - The portal will help the Indian law enforcement agencies in dealing with transnational crimes such as human trafficking, cybercrime, financial crimes etc.

About INTERPORL

The  INTERPORL or the International Police Commission was established in 1923 in Vienna, Austria .

Dr Johannes Schober, President of the Vienna Police. who convened the 2nd International Criminal Police Congress in Vienna, Austria in 1923 is credited for the formation of the INTERPOL.

Functions

INTERPOL maintains a database of 19 criminal activities.. 

The INTERPOL provides a point of contact between the law enforcement of the member countries. These law enforcement are known as the National Central Bureau.

Member countries are connected to each other via a secure communications system called I-24/7. It also allows member countries' agencies to access INTERPOL’s  databases and services in real-time.

Notice system: 

INTERPOL has a notice system which enables member countries to share alerts and requests for information regarding crime and criminals. 

The system of colour-coded international notices are;

Red (request  to arrest the person pending extradition or other legal actions), Yellow (missing persons),Blue( additional information),Black(unidentified bodies),Green (warnings and intelligence),Orange ( imminent threats),Purple (modus operandi).

It has also launched INTERPOL–United Nations Security Council Special Notice for groups and individuals under UN sanctions.

Member - 196 countries 

Headquarters-Lyon, France 

President: Major General Ahmed Naser Al- Raisi (UAE)