India's first portal for narco files lists over 500,000 offenders in 1 mnth

Within the first month of its launch, the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders (Nidaan) — India's registry of narcotics traffickers — has recorded over 500,000 names, reported The Economic Times on Monday.

Developed by the Narcotics Control Burea, Nidaan is first-of-its kind database of arrested narcotics offenders from states and union territories. Nidaan sources its data from the ICJS (inter-operable criminal justice system) and the e-Prisons (a cloud-based application) repository and it is planned to integrate it in the future with the crime and criminal tracking network system or CCTNS, according to officials. 

An initiative of the Supreme Court e-committee, ICJS was created to enable seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories, from one platform.

Nidaan is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 30 in Chandigarh during the national conference on 'Drug trafficking and national security'.

NCORD is a four-tier mechanism with NCB being the national nodal agency, was created by the union government in 2016.

It provides data about those accused who have been arrested and jailed for drugs offences and those who are "directly or indirectly involved in the produce, manufacture, possession, selling, purchase, transport, warehousing, usage, consumption, inter-state import and export, import into India, export from India or transhipment of any narcotics or psychotropic substance," reported PTI. 

The database is only accessible to law enforcement agencies and state police for investigation and monitoring purposes, according to officials. Nidaan includes names and aliases, travel and immigration documents, employment information, professional licenses, and other important identity details of the offenders, reported ET. 

(With PTI inputs)