Patna: The Bihar police department has begun a sweeping digitisation programme, shifting its core functions – from research and investigation to file movement – onto online platforms in a bid to modernise operations and improve transparency.
More than 40,000 officers working at police station level, including research and investigation officers, have been issued laptops and smartphones to support the shift. Senior officers have also been provided with digital devices, while a committee led by the inspector general (modernisation) has been tasked with overseeing the transition. The committee has studied models in states such as Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where policing has already been largely digitised.
The move comes in the wake of the introduction of the Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita (Indian Judicial Code), which mandates that all investigative procedures – including raids, site inspections and evidence collection – be recorded digitally and presented in court.
As part of the overhaul, Bihar police have developed and deployed a range of mobile-based applications. Passport verification, criminal identification and inter-station data sharing are now being managed through mobile apps linked to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS). Of the state’s 1,300 police stations, about 900 are connected to CCTNS, with efforts under way to integrate the rest. The network stores records of criminals and habitual offenders in digital form.
Emergency response services such as Dial-112 and the cybercrime helpline (1930) are already fully computerised, while the CID unit has shifted all internal file transfers to online systems. Plans are also in place to extend this digitisation to file movement across all districts and police headquarters. Online FIR registration, currently available in some jurisdictions, is expected to be rolled out across the state, along with digital records of licensed weapons and their holders.
Officials say the reforms will reduce the risk of evidence tampering, speed up investigations, and make it easier to secure convictions. They are also expected to cut the backlog of pending cases.
Vinay Kumar, the state’s director general of police, said the transition was progressing rapidly. “In the coming months, all processes will be made online. Digitisation will bring convenience, transparency and effectiveness to the functioning of the police,” he said.
