look news india
‘FASTag’, which facilitates the movement of vehicles on the toll plazas of Indian National Highways, is no longer limited to only toll tax collection. The Central Government has taken a very tough and strategic step to further strengthen the national security. Now the data from Fastag and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed at toll plazas will be used as a powerful weapon to curb vehicle theft, organized crime and terrorist activities in the country. New guidelines have been issued in this regard by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which will prove to be a major change in the security system of the country.
Security agencies will get direct feed and real-time alerts
It has often been seen that vehicles are used to carry explosives or as vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in terrorist incidents or attacks. Apart from this, criminals and vehicle thieves easily move from one state to another by changing the number plates of their vehicles or by installing fake plates. Under this new plan, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other intelligence and security agencies will get direct feed of toll plaza data. As soon as any blacklisted or suspicious vehicle reaches any toll plaza, agencies will immediately receive a real-time alert. With this, the movement of suspicious vehicles in sensitive areas can be closely monitored and after any incident, terrorists or criminals can be easily tracked.
Vehicle theft and hit-and-run cases will be revealed immediately
According to government data, an average of 1.5 to 2 lakh vehicles are stolen every year in India, with Delhi-NCR alone accounting for more than 50 percent of the cases. The criminals drive away these stolen vehicles to the North-Eastern states, Nepal border or Jammu and Kashmir within a few hours. The new ANPR cameras will not only read the number plate, but also accurately match the color, make and model of the vehicle. If any difference is found between the Fastag and the actual details of the vehicle, the vehicle will be seized at the toll plaza itself. Additionally, it will now become extremely easy to track down criminals by extracting accurate routemap and time-stamped data of vehicles used in hit-and-run cases, robberies, dacoities, kidnappings and arms smuggling.
Full care will be taken of the privacy of the general public
In this entire process, special care has been taken of the privacy of the citizens. Officials have clarified that this sensitive data will remain completely secure and will not be made public to the general public. Only authorized and key law enforcement agencies such as police, NIA, ED and transport departments will get controlled access. To prevent misuse of data, a junior Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been put in place, under which necessary information will be shared only on formal request from senior officials.