Amit Shah launches Bharatpol portal for easier access to Interpol; details here

Home Minister Amit Shah launched ‘Bharatpol’ on Tuesday that will enable Indian agencies to share information faster to access international police assistance through Interpol. “Bharatpol will take our country's international investigations to a new era. CBI was the only agency identified to work with the Interpol but with the launch of Bharatpol, every Indian agency and all states' police will easily be able to connect with the Interpol,” said Shah during the launch of the portal. 

Amit Shah said that a lot of red tape would be made redundant with Bharatpol, which will also give quicker access to a lot of information. 

WHAT IS BHARATPOL?

The Bharatpol portal was developed by the CBI to allow state police and other central law enforcement agencies access real-time information or easier access to police assistance through Interpol. State and UT police forces as well as central agencies would be able to send their requests seeking information from Interpol on fugitives abroad through Bharatpol. 

The Home Ministry said that the portal was developed due to an increase in footprint of transnational crimes such as cyber-crime, financial crimes, online radicalisation, organised crimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking etc.

Currently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is responsible for Interpol-related affairs.The ministry said that at the central, state and UT levels, the coordination with Interpol is executed through Interpol Liaison Officers (ILOs), who are further linked to Unit Officers (UOs) at the level of Superintendents of Police, Commissioners of Police and Branch Heads, within their respective organisations. The communication between CBI, ILOs and UOs rely on letters, emails and faxes. 

As many as 100 wanted criminals since 2021, including 26 in 2024, have been returned to India through coordination via Interpol channels.