Punjab has become the first state in the country to launch a statewide public identification portal for unidentified and unclaimed deceased persons admitted to government mortuaries, officials said on Wednesday. Health Minister Balbir Singh launched the portal, named “Pehchaan”, which will allow families in India and abroad to search for missing relatives free of charge through official Health Department websites.
Under the initiative, facial photographs, tattoos, birthmarks, deformities and other permanent identification marks, along with detailed physical descriptions of every unidentified or unclaimed deceased person, will be uploaded within 48 hours of the postmortem examination at any government mortuary in the state. Once a claimant submits an online request, the investigating officer concerned will automatically receive a notification and can begin the formal identification process under the appropriate legal authority. The system is aimed at reducing the need for families to repeatedly visit mortuaries or police stations in their search for missing relatives.
Around 6,000 bodies unidentified annually
Singh said around 5,000 to 6,000 people die unidentified and unclaimed in Punjab every year and described the initiative as a commitment to ensuring dignity for the dead and closure for their families.
“Every year, approximately 5,000 to 6,000 human beings die as unknown and unclaimed in Punjab alone. They were someone’s son, daughter, spouse or parent, and somewhere a family is still waiting for them,” he said.
The minister said no individual should be denied the dignity of being identified because of poverty, migration or other circumstances.
Built on medico-legal network
The Pehchaan portal has been developed on the foundation of Punjab’s digital medico-legal software MedLEaPR, an NIC-built system introduced following directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
MedLEaPR is currently operational across all 23 districts and 346 government hospitals in Punjab, with more than 6,600 registered medical officers. According to the state government, the system has handled over 12 lakh medico-legal and postmortem cases and recorded a 99.6 per cent compliance rate in timely freezing of reports.
The platform connects police, courts, health institutions and nine forensic science laboratories, including AIIMS Bathinda. It is also integrated with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems for cross-matching unidentified bodies with missing-person records.
Punjab officials said the state’s medico-legal documentation model has also been studied and adopted in varying forms by nearly 30 states and Union Territories.