Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday stressed the need for using biometrics to identify bodies and unidentified “found persons” and emphasised the use of technology in criminal investigations.

While chairing a review meeting on the implementation of the three new criminal laws with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in Delhi, Shah said officials of his ministry and the NCRB should visit the states and Union Territories to facilitate the adoption of the three laws and assist them in all possible ways.

The three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — had come into effect from July 1 replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

Opposition leaders had slammed the government for bringing the new laws, accusing it of forcibly passing the legislation without debate by suspending MPs. They alleged that the new laws were draconian and repressive. On the use of technology, Shah said alerts should be generated for all criminal cases at predefined stages and timelines right from registration to disposal of the case to benefit victims and complainants.

“He (Shah) said alerts to investigation officers as well as senior officers as per pre-defined timelines will help expedite the investigation process. He asserted that biometrics technology should be adopted to identify unidentified bodies and unidentified found persons,” said a ministry official.

The meeting reviewed the implementation and integration of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) and the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), the New Criminal Laws and the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, prisons, courts, prosecution and forensics with the ICJS at all-India level.

Shah emphasised regular interactions with senior police formations of states and Union Territories to monitor the progress of the CCTNS and the ICJS and provide impetus to the project. “The NCRB should create a data-rich platform to benefit the investigation officers and other stakeholders of the criminal justice system,” Shah said.