CAG finds 'serious loopholes' in CCTNS application in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged "serious lapses" in implementation of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) in Odisha. The CAG has conducted an IT audit of the CCTNS to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the system from its inception (2013) till March 2023. The findings have been published in CAG's latest report, which was laid before the Assembly on Wednesday evening. The audit has revealed privacy breaches and lapses in investigation and prosecution, including the preparation of charge sheets by officers who were not designated as investigating officers (IOs). There was significant control failure in enforcing chronological sequencing and logical sequencing of actions, resulting in untenable and illogical recording of events, such as registration of FIR prior to registration of General Diary (GD) entries and recording of arrests and seizures prior to recording of FIRs, it said.

The audit found 2,080 instances across 217 police stations from 2018 to 2023 where charge sheets were prepared by officers not designated as IOs for the cases in question. The CAG also noticed reporting of 5,566 missing complaints of children below 18 years in the system without registration of FIRs, although it was a prerequisite and mandatory. Despite having provisions in the system for registration and maintenance, 9,642 non-cognisable cases had not been recorded by 29 police stations in CCTNS, the audit found. In 1,631 cases at 405 police stations, details of women victims and juvenile offenders classified as sensitive were disclosed on the citizen portal, the report said. Citing another instance of such a breach in the system, the CAG found that 368 cases were reported as closed. Of these, 190 cases had been incorrectly reported as closed in the report, even though the finalised charge sheets in these cases had actually not been forwarded to the concerned court.