The RAIDS AI app developed under the leadership of Ratnagiri Superintendent of Police Nitin Bagate has helped Maharashtra police identify 37 unidentified bodies, including decomposed and skeletal remains, while also generating leads in missing-person investigations and long-pending criminal cases.
RAIDS, or Rapid AI Driven Investigation and Detection System, uses artificial-intelligence-assisted facial reconstruction to generate possible facial appearances from damaged photographs, witness sketches, partial images and skeletal references. From one reconstruction, the system can create up to 108 scientifically guided variations that investigators can circulate to relatives, witnesses and the public.
The application has two specialised modules. Dev Drishti generates controlled variations of a known face using forensic prompts and identity-lock constraints. Dev Roop Rekha reconstructs faces from witness sketches, degraded photographs, partial images and skeletal references.
The system was developed after Bagate encountered repeated difficulties identifying bodies recovered in Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri, including remains washed ashore after prolonged exposure to seawater and bodies found in forest areas in advanced stages of decomposition. Bagate, who served as Additional SP in Sindhudurg from 2021 to 2023, said establishing identity was often essential to progressing an investigation.
He began exploring the technology after taking charge as Ratnagiri SP in May 2025. The application was developed over two months in September and October 2025, followed by another two to three months of testing and fine-tuning. The first results in previously unsolved cases began emerging in January 2026. The Maharashtra government later recognised the initiative with an e-Governance Award in March.
RAIDS has been used in cases across Maharashtra. In Kalyan, police used a reconstructed image after an unidentified man was found with his face allegedly deliberately damaged. Information from the public helped establish his identity and provided investigators with a lead that assisted in detecting the case and arresting the accused.
In Nagpur, police circulated a reconstructed image of an unidentified man whose face had been mutilated after his body was found in a forest. A shopkeeper recognised the face and identified the deceased as a businessman known in the area. Police established the identity within two hours.
In Guhagar in Ratnagiri, police recovered a human skull along with clothing and personal belongings. RAIDS generated a facial reconstruction that closely matched a photograph of missing person Pramod Dhodu Kamble. His relatives compared the image with his photograph and the recovered belongings before confirming the identity. The system has also been used in a Panvel case involving an unidentified woman whose body had been severely damaged.
The application is also being used for missing-person and accused-tracing investigations. Its database currently contains details of 384 missing persons, while AI-assisted facial reconstruction has been carried out in nine missing-person cases. In a 2006 murder case in Khed, investigators used old photographs of two brothers who had remained absconding for nearly two decades. RAIDS generated variations showing possible changes in their hairstyles and facial hair, after which the men were traced in Panvel on March 17 this year.
Police units from Nashik and Nagpur have shared information with the platform, and its capabilities have been used in cases in Nanded, Navi Mumbai, Ahilyanagar, Satara, Palghar and Raigad. The State CID and several district police units are also using the system. Its database brings together information on unidentified bodies, missing persons, wanted and absconding accused and repeat offenders across police jurisdictions.
Police officials have stressed that RAIDS does not independently establish identity or guilt. AI-generated faces are treated only as investigative leads, with DNA testing, fingerprints, medical examination and other established forensic procedures required for conclusive identification. Bagate said the platform was intended to ensure that unidentified deceased persons did not remain anonymous and that families could receive answers and, after proper verification, perform the last rites of their loved ones with dignity.
