Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said all Central agencies such as the CBI, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) should be linked to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)- the centralised online database of First Information Reports (FIRs), charge sheets and investigation reports.
“Nearly 99% of the police stations in the country are connected to CCTNS. But Central agencies such as the CBI, NIA and the NCB are not on this platform. FIR is a public document, what is the secrecy around it? Agencies should not resist, it is not an option [to join CCTNS]. Charge sheet is also a public document. What kind of information has to be shared can be decided professionally by the agencies,” he stated.
The CCTNS is a platform that links around 16,000 police stations across the country. All State police are mandated to file FIRs in the CCTNS module. The project was conceptualised and initated in 2009.
