HC orders biometric identification of accused, convicts

The High Court has directed the government to introduce a biometric system of identifying the real accused and convicts in police station and prisons.

A bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order on Thursday following accusation of innocent person in any case and arrest warrant against him instead of real accused.

Hailing from Noakhali, one Zahir faced an arrest warrant in a sabotage case filed with the Khilgaon police station. He filed a writ petition with the HC challenging his implication in the case.

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) investigated the matter following the HC order and submitted a report showing Modasser to be real culprit. As such, Modasser Ansari has replaced Zahir as the real criminal.

The HC termed arrest warrant against one Md Zahir Uddin instead of Modasser Ansari alias Mohaddes illegal.

The High Court instructed the government to introduce a system to record fingerprints, palm prints and iris scans of the accused in police stations, capture and integrate full-face mug shots of the accused following arrests and introduce biometric data storage system in all prisons of the country through fingerprint, palm print and iris scan preservation.