Ahmedabad: Gujarat Police has taken a new step in smart policing, with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch becoming the first law enforcement agency in the country to be recognised as an Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE) after signing an agreement with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for Aadhaar-based verification.

With this pact, the Crime Branch’s Pathik software has now been officially integrated with the Aadhaar database. This initiative will enable instant and paperless verification of passengers staying in hotels, home-stays, or as paying guests by simply scanning their Aadhaar QR code.

Officials said citizen privacy has been given top priority, as the application does not store Aadhaar numbers, ensuring complete data security. Notably, Pathik is the only law enforcement project among the 11 best projects selected by the Central Government at the national level.

At present, more than 9,000 hotels across Gujarat are connected to the system, which has already helped police trace over 50 missing persons. The project’s security features have been appreciated by the Government of India, and the Union Home Ministry is considering expanding its scope to include the verification of tenants and workers in the near future. DeshGujarat