Registry of sexual offenders out, 4.4 lakh convicts on list

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 21

The Centre has created a national registry of sexual offenders, which carries the names of around 4.4 lakh persons convicted for such offences so far.

As the database would have names of those convicted for sexual offences 2005 onwards, states have been asked to keep adding names of such persons, a senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official said.

The registry will have name, address, photograph and biometric details of the convict, but this will not compromise privacy of individuals, as access to the database will be available only to the law-enforcing agencies for “investigation and monitoring”, the official said.

With the launch of National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here yesterday, where Union Woman and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi was also present, India became the ninth country in the world to have such a registry.

The proposal to set up a registry was mooted during the UPA-II regime after the 2012 “Nirbhaya” gang rape.

The database will be maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau, which will also track whether the state police were updating the records on time. The database will include offenders convicted under charges of rape, gang rape, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and eve-teasing.

The Home Minister also launched another portal—cybercrime.gov.in—which will be open to general public where citizens can register complaints relating to objectionable online content on child pornography, child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit material such as rape and gang rape.