Police get new app to scan suspect fingerprints on the streets

Police and investigating agencies across the country will soon be equipped with portable fingerprint scanners linked to a national database of 1.3 crore criminal suspects and convicts, letting them stop individuals anywhere, even on the streets, to collect thumb impressions and instantly check for any pending criminal records on their smartphones.

Abhigyan, an app developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to implement the procedure, was launched by Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday (June 19, 2026).

The app links to the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), which stores fingerprint scans of accused, convicts, and those in prisons on a centralised platform. A demonstration of the app showed that prints can be matched with the NAFIS database in 35 seconds.

Routine checks

“During routine vehicle checks on the streets, biometric scans of any suspicious individual can be conducted to identify persons wanted in connection with crimes. Field officers can get the criminal history of the suspect in a few seconds. This will provide protection to the police officials, as they will be alerted of the presence of a hardened criminal,” the demonstration stated.

An NCRB official told The Hindu that the Criminal Procedure Identification Act, 2022 provides the legal basis for such checks. However, Section 3 of the Act seems to limit the mandatory recording of measurements, including fingerprints, to people who have been convicted or arrested and those ordered to give security for good behaviour or maintaining peace under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Act does not mention the possibility of random testing of individuals without any evidence linking them to a punishable offence.

At present, the facility to check fingerprints against the NAFIS database is only available through 1,556 workstations deployed at police stations and district headquarters across the country. The current process involves bringing an individual to the workstation to match his or her fingerprints with the database.

Real-time identification

Mr. Shah said that the app enables field police personnel to access a vast repository of criminal records directly on their smartphones. “Secured with two-step authentication, it allows real-time fingerprint identification within seconds, strengthening ground-level policing. Equipped with features such as fast identification, portability, and access to millions of records, ‘Abhigyan’ is a highly powerful tool,” the Minister said.

The NAFIS database includes the records of around 9.91 lakh narcotics offenders, 3.65 lakh human trafficking cases, and extensive prison databases, Mr. Shah said. NAFIS should not be used merely to identify offenders, he said, noting that its effectiveness depends on continuously enriching the database by uploading fingerprints collected from every crime scene. He noted that a criminal’s DNA sample, if properly preserved, can also be used in the investigation of other crimes, adding that this is primarily the responsibility of the States.

Focus on prosecution

He said that continued emphasis must be placed not only on apprehending offenders but also on ensuring that crimes are proven in a time-bound manner. The focus should not be limited merely to the arrest of criminals but on time-bound justice, he added.

The Home Minister said that training must be made more practical. Training modules should incorporate the art of drafting concise chargesheets, along with the precise processes of collecting, preserving, and uploading scientific evidence. Such modules should be developed by experienced prosecutors. If courts are still presented with 250 pieces of evidence, even after matching fingerprints, telephone tower data, facial recognition, iris scans, and DNA, then the technology serves no real purpose, Mr. Shah noted.