The Ernakulam district courts and sub-courts here last week began using videoconferencing facility to handle remand extension of accused persons in prison. Undertrials at the District Jail at Kakkanad now need not be brought to the courts in the city for remand extension every two weeks. The court can now handle the proceedings through a video feed.
The new system has been hailed as a great way to cut costs, save time, and it ensures greater security.
However, on the day the videoconferencing was scheduled to begin in one of the sub-courts, there was a glitch. The trouble did not come from technical failure, but from the simple fact that old habits die hard. Police officers in charge of the accused who had gotten used to the earlier system promptly brought the accused to court when it was the turn for their remand to be extended. When court officials tried to set up the videoconference, they found the accused already at their doorstep. The court had no option but to dispose of the case right there.
The videoconference facility began the next day with three persons accused of possessing over 8 kg of ganja.
Watch out for your gold
The city and rural police had recently come across several cases of men on motorcycles snatching gold chains from women and making their escape. While those incidents seem to have come down after a few arrests made in recent times, police are now up against a new kind of chain-snatchers.
With motorcycle chain-snatchings, the thieves rely on speed and taking the victim by surprise to get away with the gold. In several cases reported in the last few months, women travelling on crowded buses have been the targets of chain-snatching cases, with the culprit usually being a woman.
The Aluva police recently caught a woman who tried to steal a gold chain from an 89-year-old woman at a church.
The thief identified the senior citizen as an easy target and tried to make away with her gold chain while she was in prayer. The vigilance of the woman meant that the theft was foiled and the woman was arrested.
Police suspect that the woman was part of a group engaged in chain-snatching and picking pockets. “We are questioning the woman to find out more about others in her gang. Some engage in theft while others arrange for the stolen items to be sold,” said a police officer.
