Andhra police rank first in developing chance fingerprints, solve 412 cases in 2020

AP police stood 3rd position in the country in solving the cases by using fingerprints.

For the second consecutive year, AP police stood first in identifying and developing chance fingerprints from crime scenes. The AP has also developed over 9,397 chance fingerprints from the crime scenes in 2020.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report revealed that Andhra Pradesh police had developed 9,418 chance fingerprints from the crime scenes in 2019. They developed 9,397 chance fingerprints by visiting the crime spots in 2020, followed by Kerala (8,807), Telangana (6,256), Tamil Nadu (6,021), Uttar Pradesh (5,108), Karnataka (3,808).

The data also said that Andhra Pradesh police solved 412 cases with the help of chance fingerprints Kerala stood first with 657 cases and Karnataka second with 517 cases. AP police solved 512 cases with the help of chance fingerprints in 2019.

Police said despite the staff crisis in the fingerprints department, the wing has been creating records. The chance fingerprints are the minute clues, such as fingerprints and traces left by offenders at the crime scene. In some cases, they collect more chance prints and divided them into three categories. They include patent (blood, dirt, and few others that are visible to the human eye), plastic (which are a three-dimensional impression of the fingerprints left in the soap, wax, and others), and latent (required more patience and techniques by using some powder for detection of the fingerprints.

NCRB mentioned six top cases solved by AP police by using the fingerprints.

Currently, AP police are able to use AFIS Papillon software to criminal identification system. Soon, police forces across the country will use real-time criminal identification system -- National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) -- which will collect fingerprints of criminals in the country and put in one place to identify them.

Fingerprints play a major role in determining the evidence and helping the investigation officers in detecting the accused persons.

The case involving the robbery of Rs 9.59 lakh from an ATM in Vizag city was solved by police with the help of the chance fingerprints in November 2020. Cops arrested Samar Jyot Singh (35) from Punjab and Zagar Sadeeq (28) from Kerala. With the help of the fingerprints, the police visited Bengaluru and nabbed the duo, who were also involved in a robbery of Rs27 lakh from an ATM in Bhubaneswar.

NCRB mentioned that the ATM robbery occurred on October 22, 2020 in Vizag city as the offenders entered the ATM and broke the case box with a cash cutter and decamped with Rs9.59 lakh.

Fingerprints expert T Triveni visited the crime on the same day and developed 25 chance prints. After the elimination of the inmate's print, were compared with the fingerprint records of SFPB, CID of AP. Five chance prints were found identical with the offender Samar Jyot Singh.

Police said 49 percent of posts in the fingerprints bureau lie vacant in Andhra Pradesh.

NCRB said that there are only 53 personnel in the fingerprint bureau in Andhra Pradesh where the total sanctioned strength is 104.

Andhra Pradesh fingerprints bureau has 1,29,459 ten-digit fingerprint slips of convicted persons in its records.