Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
In a move aimed at improving the quality of investigation in ‘sessions triable cases’ and boost conviction rate in the State, Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjeev Dayal has issued order to form separate ‘Investigation Wing’ at all police stations from July 1.
Dayal confirmed the development and told ‘The Hitavada’ that the move would definitely make an impact. As per the order issued on May 24, each police station shall have a separate Investigation Wing that will be entrusted with the ‘exclusive dedicated responsibility’ of investigation in all sessions cases registered at such police stations. ‘The Hitavada’ has in possession a copy of DGP’s standing order no. 24 of 2015. Through the order, the DGP has given time till July 1 to all the units to take ‘necessary action’ to disseminate instructions and prepare police stations. He has sought compliance of the order by August 1.
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| DGP Sanjeev Dayal |
In effect, the order separates Investigation Wing from Law and Order functions of the Police Department. The separation shall be applicable to police stations in Commissionerate areas (including Nagpur and Amravati in Vidarbha region), District Police, and Government Railway Police that have dual responsibility of crime investigation and maintenance of law and order.
Interestingly, Dayal has minced no words in stating that the officers or constabulary assigned to the Investigation Wing shall not be committed to any other category of investigation or be withdrawn for the discharge of law and order duties ‘under no circumstances’. There was a demand for separating investigation function from law and order function, for long.
Dayal said that the objective of the Standing Order is to improve the quality of investigation of sessions cases and ensure timely disposal of such cases. The move will also result in improving conviction rate. Commissioners of Police, Superintendents of Police, and Government Railway Police will now have to identify suitable manpower and segregate it exclusively for investigation and ‘pairavi’ roles.
Keeping in mind slow investigation, the DGP has asked Police officers to ensure a ‘fixed tenure’ for investigation teams and duly equipping them with legal, forensic, scientific, and technological expertise and resources. He also reminded the State Police to achieve time-bound investigation with ‘meaningful, applied supervision’ by superior officers.
An annual review will be undertaken to assess the efficacy of the said Standing Order. With the order, Dayal has issued details regarding selection of personnel, tenure, posting, repatriation of officers and constabulary, command structure, charter of work, resources, and power of transfer of investigation from Investigation Wing within or beyond the respective units.
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