Guwahati, July 18 (IANS) Assam Police has become the first police force in the Northeast and the third in the country to be registered as an Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE) under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a move aimed at strengthening identity verification, particularly in remote and internet-deficient areas of the state.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the development on Friday, describing it as a significant step towards making policing more efficient, secure and citizen-friendly.
According to the Chief Minister, the OVSE registration will enable Assam Police personnel to instantly verify an individual’s identity by scanning the secure QR code embedded in Aadhaar cards without requiring an internet connection.
The facility is expected to be particularly beneficial in Assam’s geographically challenging regions, including hill districts, char areas, border villages and other remote locations where internet connectivity remains unreliable.
Officials said the offline verification system uses the Aadhaar QR code, which carries a digitally signed and tamper-proof security seal issued by UIDAI.
This makes it significantly more difficult for criminals, illegal infiltrators or other offenders to use forged or photocopied Aadhaar cards to mislead law enforcement agencies during verification exercises.
The Chief Minister noted that the technology would enhance field-level policing by allowing patrol teams to authenticate credentials instantly without depending on network availability.
Apart from strengthening security measures, the initiative is also expected to improve the delivery of routine police services.
Processes such as tenant verification, character certificate verification, passport police verification and arms licence verification are likely to become faster and more streamlined through offline Aadhaar authentication.
Officials believe the new system will reduce delays caused by poor connectivity and minimise the scope for fraudulent identity documents during police verification procedures.
Highlighting the broader significance of the achievement, Chief Minister Sarma said Assam Police’s registration as an OVSE reflects the state’s growing emphasis on adopting technology-driven governance and modern policing practices.
The state government has in recent years undertaken several digital initiatives to improve public service delivery, law enforcement and administrative efficiency.
With the latest registration under UIDAI, Assam Police joins a select group of police organisations in the country authorised to carry out secure offline Aadhaar verification, a move expected to strengthen identity authentication while making police services more accessible and efficient for citizens across the state.
–IANS
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