Patna, Jan. 15: Think twice before committing any crime in Bihar. Once convicted by any lower court and appeal rejected by the upper court, criminals would be deprived of certain benefits provided to the citizens.

Bihar today became the first state to introduce the concept of “civil consequences of crime”. Under the scheme, the names, photographs and addresses besides the nature of offences committed by the convicted persons would be in public domain so that they cannot claim the benefits.

The information related to convicted persons whose appeals against the verdict of the lower courts had been rejected by the upper courts would be available on the government website http://210.212.23.53./ prison, launched today by chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Launching the website, the chief minister said: “It is an attempt to establish the rule of law in the state. The government launched speedy trial in 2006 under which a large number of criminals were convicted and then switched over to speedy appeal. Now it is the turn of civil consequences of crime. It will work as deterrent to crime and help the state administration establish the rule of law in Bihar.”

Highlighting the benefits of the new concept, the chief minister said now the information about those awarded punishment by the court of law cannot be hidden. Any government or private agency can access the website and procure information about such people, he added.

Initially, information about 1,450 convicts has been uploaded on the website. Later, information on the convicted persons released from jail after the completion of the sentence, would be uploaded. “The list of such persons has been sought from the jails across the state,” said inspector-general (prisons) Anand Kishore.

Director-general of police Abhayanand, who has been credited with implementing innovative methods of policing to check crime in the state, said: “The idea is to give a message to the people that punishment for committing crime or taking law in their hands is not confined to serving the jail term only. They will also be loser of certain benefits provided to bona fide citizens.”

With the implementation of the “civil consequences of crime”, the first of its kind in the country, convicts would not be eligible to apply for arms licence or passport. They would not be able to seek loan from nationalised banks, nor would they be able to buy goods from public distribution system shops.

The convicts would not be eligible for bagging any contract awarded by the government agencies. They would also be deprived of their right to apply for government jobs both on regular and contractual basis. They would not be eligible to hold any post in government-aided non-government organisations or institutions.