Srinagar, Nov 4: According to officials on Saturday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has become the first law enforcement agency in the nation to implement GPS tracker anklets for the purpose of tracking terror suspects who are being released on bond. The GPS tracker anklet is a wearable gadget that is placed around the target person’s ankle to track their movements. The technology is already being utilised in Western nations including the USA, UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand to track the whereabouts of accused individuals under house arrest, parole, or bail, which significantly reduces the number of people incarcerated.The GPS tracker anklet has been introduced by J-K Police authorities from the State Investigation Agency (SIA) to monitor terror suspects who have been granted bail. According to them, the J-K Police is the first law enforcement agency in the nation to use this kind of equipment. The gadgets were installed, according to the officials, following an order from a Special NIA Court in Jammu, which directed the police to put a GPS tracker anklet on a terror suspect. The prosecution department of the police had emphasised the significance of this decision.Giving specifics of the case, the authorities stated that accused Ghulam Mohd Bhat had requested bail in a formal complaint filed under several UAPA articles. In the interim, the accused requested to be freed on bond while the bail case was ongoing. According to them, the accused is on trial for his affiliation with various terrorist groups and his involvement in financing terrorism under the direction of the banned group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). Bhat attempted to carry Rs 2.5 lakh in terrorist proceeds at HM’s request when he was detained in the present FIR.According to the officials, the accused was also found guilty in a different case by the NIA Court Patiala House, Delhi, of conspiring to commit a terrorist act and of being a member of a terrorist organisation. The prosecution department of Zonal Police Headquarters (ZPHQ), Jammu, emphasised in the Special NIA Court, Jammu, the need of closely monitoring the terror accused and the strict requirements for granting bail under the UAPA, 1967, the officials said. “The Special NIA Court, Jammu, was pleased to pass an order directing J-K Police to affix a GPS tracker anklet on the accused after finding merit in the prosecution’s submissions,” they continued.According to them, J-K Police is the first police agency in the nation to allow people who are requesting bail to have GPS tracker anklets attached to them.
