Tool to analyse ‘radical content’, app for smooth traffic stops: Amit Shah takes note of Goa Police initiatives

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement that Shah highlighted the need to achieve a 90% conviction rate in criminal cases where the quantum of punishment is more than seven years.

According to the statement, Shah directed the police “to ensure that property recovered from criminals is returned to its rightful owners in accordance with the provisions of the new criminal laws”.

The meeting was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Goa Chief Secretary, Goa DGP, the Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), Director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and other senior officials from the MHA and the Goa government.

Rahul Gupta, Superintendent of Police, Crime and Cyber Crime, Goa, gave a presentation at the meeting on some of the initiatives launched by Goa Police over the last one year. Shah directed officials to study three of these initiatives.

The first initiative is a tool to analyse “radical content”. The tool, being developed in partnership with BITS Pilani, Goa, aims to counter online radicalisation and prevent extremist propaganda. “It is an AI-based tool that scans social media platforms for radical or extremist content. It can analyse online and offline content and videos (up to 25 minutes long) in English, Hindi and Urdu,” said SP Gupta. It is expected to be implemented in Goa next month.

Goa Police also launched a ‘Quick Pass’ mobile application to streamline traffic compliance, ensure smoother movement of vehicles and reduce inconvenience for motorists, especially tourists. After a commuter is stopped for document verification, the mobile app generates an instant QR code as proof of compliance, eliminating the need for repeated document verification at multiple traffic checkpoints. The QR code is sent as a web link through SMS and remains valid for 12 hours. The app also includes a dashboard for real-time traffic data analysis, including geo-tagging and violation hotspot mapping.

The third initiative is a “cloud-based call centre” for the 1930 cyber crime helpline. Being developed under the AI and machine learning (AI-ML) lab of the Goa Police, it is a cloud-based call-handling system for cybercrime helplines to assist citizens in reporting cyber scams and handling their calls. It allows for handling a large volume of calls, real-time monitoring and conferencing calling.