DGP explains how police investigate criminal cases

[goodboy_mentor]

Reference: http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/W ... ins/13329/

Criminal Justice System Precept and Practice - Tr. A.X.Alexander, IPS., (Retd), Former DGP of Tamilnadu
Source: Criminal Investigation Department Review, 2007: Issue: 1V

DGP Narrates.....
I cite two instances of burglary that took place in my house. The first was in 1981. A bundle of clothes, few vessels, iron box, brass taps, etc. which were kept in the rear verandah were burgled. On the same day in three other houses including in the house of another senior police officer there were burglaries. In my desire to ensure against repetition of this disgrace, I preferred a complaint in the Police station about this burglary.

A case was registered promptly and a Head Constable visited the site and —— nothing further happened! After four years, one day I had to visit the Station officially. After finishing my official work I casually enquired from the station staff on the fate of the case. The Station Inspector informed me that the case has been referred as Un-Detected. I was curious to find out who signed the RCS notice, as I remembered not to have signed any RCS notice. I called for the RCS book. To my surprise I found someone had signed and had sung a requiem for the case.

There was another burglary in 1997. This time the burglar entered the house and decamped with some cash, a bangle and a camera kept on the dressing table. He had left sufficient fingerprints. I informed the Police hesitatingly as I had serious misgiving that this case also would suffer the same fate of the case of 1981. But promptly very senior officers came home and the Fingerprint expert deciphered the thief and within three hours the thief was apprehended and the property was recovered. He was brought to the house. I asked him why he committed this theft. He replied that his wife had delivered a baby just a day before and he was badly in need of money to look after her and the baby. He was sent to the prison and subsequently detained under Act 14 of 1982. He had 54 convictions.

The wife of the culprit, who had come to know of the arrest and detention later, came to us through the Sisters of Mercy Home and sought help for livelihood, which was given.

After the release, the thief and his wife came to see us and I asked him why he had committed thefts so many times. He replied that he was an assistant in masonry work and that he had committed petty felonies only and not definitely the cases shown in his conviction records and the police had taken him whenever they could not fix an accused.

I perused his conviction records and most of the offenses for which he was punished were motorcycle thefts. From his looks I could guess that he did not know even to start a motorcycle. I confronted him why he had committed thefts of motorcycles. He replied that he had not committed theft of any motorcycle but whenever motorcycles were recovered in series he was fixed as the thief. I sent for the Inspector who booked him, to know from him whether the allegation of the thief was true. The Inspector stood in silence for long and muttered that it was true and I told him that he has children and wished that he sinned no more...................

Many people are also of the view that in many states when police want to "fix" innocent person/s, they plant some firearm/s and charge the person/s under Arms Act. It appears quite plausible, keeping in view of the above revelation made by nobody else other than the Director General of Police himself.

[nagarifle]

interesting read, not much can be done by individuals.

[jonahpach]

Since he was a DGP I think he was lucky that the FIR was registered at all.. Most of the times, the cops simply note down the facts on a loose sheet. After a few days of casual investigation if the complaint is not followed up the sheet ends up in the dustbin. A 15 years ago, my bike was stolen and I had registered a FIR. Luckily for me, I met another cop friend that evening and he put out an all points bulletin through the police wireless system. The next day we received a report that a couple of teenagers had been apprehended in a nearby town with a suspicious motorcycle. The numberplates had been crudely painted over etc,...
After going to that town (with the cops from my police station, they didnt have a patrol car so I had to take them along in my gypsy) and taking custody of the bike, I was really surprised and pissed off when the cops ask me to file an FIR so that they could take action against the perpetrators!! Nobody could tell me what happened to my report they had received the previous day! This seems to be the 'modus operandi' of all police stations accross the country and must be a clever ploy to lower their 'unsolved cases' list.

Jonah

[nagarifle]

its not a case of lowering their unsloved cases but rather "i get paid either way, so why work?"