Date:01/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/01/stories/2006100117040100.htm

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Vehicle tracking system introduced in Tiruchi

Staff Reporter

A computer has been installed in police control room with details of 40 lakh vehicles

TIRUCHI: A computer-aided vehicle tracking system has been introduced in the city to help the police detect stolen vehicles and ascertain the genuineness of the owner.

With the introduction of the system, the police can immediately obtain full details of the vehicle such as original colour and registration number, name and address of the owner, engine and chassis numbers, from the police control room where a computer has been established for the purpose.

The computer installed in the control room has been fed with comprehensive details, which will be updated periodically with the help of Regional Transport Offices, of nearly 40 lakh vehicles running all over the State. A special software has been developed to obtain information quickly. As and when new vehicles are registered, the system at the police control room will also be updated. The moment a vehicle is intercepted on suspicion, the policemen on duty can obtain the information over the walkie-talkie from the control room to cross-check it with the registration certificate of the vehicle concerned.

The Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, M.S. Jaffar Sait, who inaugurated the system on Saturday, said that an operator in the rank of a constable would man the computer round-the-clock.The IG said that during trials the police were able to detect as many as 22 stolen vehicles in the city.

The system would be helpful in detecting the owner in hit-and-run cases when the police had the registration number of the vehicle.

In the long run, the police were planning to introduce a system for accessing the information through the `Smart' system through Short Messaging Service (SMS) by dialling a dedicated number for this purpose, he said