The scanners have already been procured for Rs 1 lakh each and the locations where these would be installed have been identified, L R Dabas, Director, State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), told The Indian Express. “The scanners loaded with the database of criminals contain their pictures, fingerprints, criminal track record and all other vital details...Within a fortnight these shall be deployed at the border checkposts and we hope the results shall be encouraging.”

Data on around one lakh “active criminals” will reportedly be saved on these ‘Pehchaan Kaun’ fingerprint scanners. The plan follows a study by the SCRB reportedly showing that around 20 per cent of the crimes related to property in Haryana are committed by those entering the state from neighbouring districts.

Insisting that the general public would not be inconvenienced or harassed, Dabas said: “We shall conduct random checks. If we suspect somebody going in a vehicle, he or she shall be asked to stop and give a fingerprint test. Within seconds, we will come to know if the person has a criminal track record or not.”

As part of the plan, four dedicated control rooms are being set up in Kaithal (for coordinating with the police forces of Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh), Sonepat (for Delhi), Karnal (for Uttar Pradesh) and Bhiwani (for Rajasthan). The new control rooms will interact with the police forces of the neighbouring districts on an hourly basis and maintain a record on crimes there as well.

“We hope it will bring down the crime rate not only in Haryana but also neighbouring states,” Dabas said.