New Delhi : With the shadow of the 13/11 Paris terror attack looming large in the background, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made a strong pitch for choking terror funding through “targeted economic sanctions.” Pointing out that the Paris attacks were a grim reminder of the flexibility and adaptability of terrorists in arranging finances, Modi said that terror funding included smuggling of narcotics, bank robberies and state-sponsored activity in failed states. Addressing the sixth Global Focal Point Conference on Asset Recovery and 21st conference of the CBI and state anti-corruption and vigilance bureaux, he said that targeting the proceeds of crime was essential to tackle it. Delegates from 34 countries and the Interpol Secretary General are also attending the two-day conference.
“Organised crime can hamper investment and economic growth. It can also infiltrate or control a large section of economy. Illicit funding promotes organised criminal activities like drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking and terrorism,” he cautioned the gathering comprising top police officials of the country. The Prime Minister had also raised the issue at the G20 summit in Turkey last week, calling for the plan to put in place global efforts for fighting terrorism. Stressing that corruption remains one of the major challenges for the government which has accorded top priority to it, he said the government has taken steps to check corruption and menace of black money in a short span of time. Quoting the ancient politico-economic philosopher Kautilya who had suggested confiscation of ill-gotten wealth of corrupt officials, Modi said the government is “unsparing when it comes to fighting corruption.”
Later, while presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Modi gave approval for fast tracking and revamping the Crime and Criminals Tracking Network and Systems Project. It was also decided to implement the Integrated Criminal Justice System by integrating CCTNS with E-Courts, E-prisons, Forensics and Prosecution — the key components of the criminal Justice System. The project is now fully aligned with the vision of Smart Policing and Digital India. Police-Citizen interface will undergo a major shift with the implementation of this project, as a number of services will be enabled through citizen portal. The project will be implemented by March 2017 with the total outlay of Rs. 2000 crore. The CCTNS, a pet project of the then Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, will link about 15000 Police Stations and additional 5000 offices of supervisory police officers across the country and digitize data related to FIR registration.
