‘Need separate Investigation Officers for heinous crimes’
Several persons in the police department that DT Next spoke to pointed out that the workload of Law and Order Wing officers was one of the deterrents in following proper procedures in murder investigations.
CHENNAI: Though the Tamil Nadu Police is notorious for botching up investigations, there have been many cases when they have done everything right and by the book.
In the recent past, TN Police secured a conviction against an accused who pushed a college student, Sathya in St Thomas Mount Railway Station in October 2022, and the accused in the Anna University sexual assault case in quick time.
While the CB-CID handled the first case, the second was handled by a court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team). The common factor in both cases is that the investigating teams had no other cases to focus on, unlike the Law and Order Inspectors.
Several persons in the police department that DT Next spoke to pointed out that the workload of Law and Order Wing officers was one of the deterrents in following proper procedures in murder investigations. Some senior officers also observed that the State would do well to appoint separate officers for homicide investigations and other heinous crimes after selecting them through an internal examination system and selection like in some countries.
“However, it is a major policy decision, and it requires political will to bring about it,” a senior police officer said.
According to officials, Tamil Nadu Police Academy is teaching various refresher courses and standard operating procedures for investigation. It also shares a check-list for important cases, and guidelines issued by various courts of law to the police personnel periodically. A ‘Handbook of Investigation’ is also provided to trainee cops to enhance their skills by imbibing the nuances of investigation of various types of crimes.
A standard operating procedure prepared by the CBCID for investigations has also been circulated to all police officers to enhance their investigation skills.
However, practical difficulties too should be taken into account, say police officers. “In the present system, there are two Inspectors – one for Law and Order, and another for Crime, for a case. Instead, there can be one more senior Inspector added to the police stations to look only after murder investigations, which will unburden the Law and Order officer’s workload,” opined another senior officer. “We’re properly trained to follow procedures. But, somewhere along the way, a bad practice sets in and it becomes the norm.”
Criminal lawyers point out to the practice of ‘standard chargesheets’ in the police system, wherein either deliberately or by mechanical work, they are filled with loopholes that lead to acquittals and embarrassing observations by the judges about the police.
However, while an embarrassment can be overcome, more often than not, it can be lethal for society. Officers claim that they have a system to review acquittals, but disciplinary action against Investigating Officers who bungle up murder cases does not seem to be in practice.
It is pertinent to point out an observation by the Madras High Court regarding the same. “In a murder case, if the trial ends in acquittal, a practice was in existence, not very long ago, to call for an explanation from the Investigation Officer. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated, if it was found that the investigation was perfunctory. But, it appears, this practice is given a go-by, and the present-day investigations are carried out by certain officers as to their whims and fancies,” Justice B Pugalendhi of the MHC had observed in his scathing order dated September 8, 2020, on the need for reforms in investigation practices.
