Shri. Aravindhan IPS  is an Indian Police Service Officer of the 2010 batch belonging to the Tamil Nadu cadre. He holds an engineering degree in computer science from BITS, Pilani. He won the sword of honour for being the ‘Best Outdoor Probationer’ at the National Police Academy. Tamil Nadu cadre won this award after 34 years through Aravindhan. During this tenure as the Deputy commissioner of Police – T.Nagar Chennai, he installed the FaceTagr app on the phones of 500 Police personnel in T.Nagar police district. This Mobile App is a first kind of initiative in the Tamil Nadu police department and helps to scan the faces of suspects and search for them in a database of known offenders.

Aravindhan is also a motivational speaker and an avid fitness enthusiast.

In an exclusive interview Shri. Aravindhan IPS tells Marie Banu about how he uses technology in his work.

What inspired you to join Indian Police Service?

While I was pursuing my Computer Science Engineering at BITS, I realised my passion to get into a job that would connect me with people directly. I was also inspired by the tsunami relief programmes undertaken by various government agencies including that of the District Collector in my native place Cuddalore.

Can you share your experience tackling the community clashes in Virudhunagar while you served as Superintendent of Police?

Virudhunagar has a history of communal violence. In 1996, there were communal undertones in many hamlets and villages.

I found that in most of the cases youngsters belonging to the age group of 18-24 were influenced by the communal and caste outfits to suit their personal gains. Hence, we introduced various community policing initiatives. I also involved the youth in sports activities and weaned them away from the caste outfits.

On the other hand, I also re-opened long pending criminal cases against the active rowdies and brought them to trial. On the run up to the assembly elections in 2016, we identified sensitive villages and trouble mongers. The trouble mongers were bound down under various provisions of The Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and their activities were closely monitored. We witnessed a visible change in terms of reduction in number of communal clashes. Similarly, we clamped down on illegal sand mining which was a predominant source of income for the rowdies in this district.

Having rejected a corporate job and shifting to civil services out of passion to serve the society, can you tell us which of the social issues you are passionate about?

As civil servants, we can be an agent of social change. The constitution provides equal education to all. But in many villages, especially in Thiruvallur District, child marriages still happen and dreams of young girls are nipped at a very early age. Education is the most powerful tool for social change. My passion lies in children and I focus on social issues like child marriage,  education for all, etc. which when addressed ensures empowerment of the marginalised sections of our society.

We have introduced Student Police Cadet  (SPCs or Kutti police as we say colloquially) in all Government schools In Thiruvallur District and have enrolled 20 students from each school. The students are taught basic traffic rules, child rights, and awareness on sexual abuse. These SPCs serve as eyes and ears of the police in the villages.

We have also setup vigilance committee at village level which constitute the Panchayat President, ward members, local school headmaster or teacher, and respectable villagers along with a police officer. Issues such as child marriage, school drop-outs, drug abuse, sexual harassment, etc are immediately brought to our attention through these village vigilance committees.

What is the outcome of the face recognition app you developed to track criminals?

Facetagr, the face-recognition mobile app was developed in 2017 and this application has helped police officials to identify and catch criminals in the state.

Once the scanned face is tracked, the database of the app lists out every known detail about the offender – from their background to previous criminal records – along with names of police stations where cases were lodged or pending against the person. We have a database of 60,000 criminals along with their background stored in this app.

The app has been installed on all the police officer’s mobile phones and is app is user friendly. Any policeman with limited knowledge of mobile phones can use this app effectively.

The application has helped Chennai police to resolve many pending cases. Facetagr has been installed in most patrol vehicles and helps police verify credentials of any suspect detained at any location in the city.

The Chennai City Police has presented the app before the National crime records bureau (NCRB) who are now taking steps to implement the face recognition technology nation-wide.

 What other plans do you have to use technology in your work?

While I was working as Deputy Commissioner of Police in Chennai, I conceptualised another application DIGICOP along with Shri. Shashank Sai, IPS (presently DC Mylapore) and developed it with Think Infinity, a company. This app was useful in reducing the incidence of mobile snatching cases in Chennai and  we were able to recover many stolen and lost mobile phones.

The Koyambedu vegetable market was shifted to Thirumazhisai temporarily due to an increase in COVID cases. In order to maintain social distancing among the vendors, I introduced a device IRIS (Instant responder to improve social distancing). This device was installed in three crowded shops in the market and was very helpful in tracking social distancing violations. This IRIS device has  been appreciated by many, including the Honourable Chief minister of Tamil Nadu.

Any intesting case in your career so far?

I had to investigate a sensational case of kidnapping as Superintendent of Police, of Virudhunagar. A twelfth-standard topper was kidnapped from her home two days after the results. The accused managed to lure her family claiming that he is a press reporter and that he came to arrange financial assistance for the family. Through extensive analysis of cctv footage and by setting up informants, we were able to rescue the girl safely within 48 hours of abduction.

Also I had the experience of working with Greater Chennai Corporation in implementing the pedestrian plaza in Pondy Bazaar when I served as Deputy commisioner of Police (Traffic division). The trials were conducted successfully and the pedestrain plaza is now one of the major centers of attraction in Chennai city

Your advise for IPS aspirants?

My advice to all civil service aspirants is to focus on fundamentals. It might even take two or three attempts to clear the examination, but if you focus on strengthening your basics and fundamentals the prelims and main examination will be a cake walk.  The civil service provides a large canvas for you to innovate and implement novel ideas in all fields. It is one of the few careers where you are given a leadership role at a very young age.  Therefore, youngsters should definitely consider this as a career option and become a part of the nation building.