What sections of the law can be invoked when a woman says she was cheated by a doctor with whom she claimed to have had a ‘divine’ relationship?
Confronted with this question, the Sub-Inspector of a police station in the north zone of Hyderabad couldn’t decide upon the action plan. However, instead of seeking the opinion of legal experts, he logged on to a web portal and got the answer.
Not just this SI, but nearly 800 of his colleagues of different ranks in Hyderabad Police Commissionerate have been utilising the services of the web portal in the past 10 months. The web portal is not a private-run website, but yet another innovation of the Hyderabad police.
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Designated as ‘Hyderabad City Police Investigation Support Centre’, the web portal is emerging as an important interface for the investigators of Hyderabad police. From suggestions on collecting evidence at crime scenes to the right penal provisions to be invoked, investigators are turning to the web portal for expert advice.
A brainchild of DGP M. Mahender Reddy, the web portal was started on an experimental basis a year ago and its services commenced on August 1, 2017. All investigating officers - irrespective of rank - were asked to register with the web portal. On registration, each investigator will get an ID and password.
Whether they are investigating a homicide, dacoity, arbitration or want to determine the point of jurisdiction, sections of law to be invoked, doubts over autopsy, forensic tools to be used, experts of the Investigation Support Centre come to their rescue with clear-cut solutions.
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Experts from the fields of investigation, prosecution, forensic science and law were inducted into the centre. Operating from the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate office, these experts analyse the queries raised by investigators through the portal and send their observations.
Clarifications can be sought over mobile phone too. “Many of the investigators are calling us. To get written answers, they have to raise a ticket (send questions) online and seek answers,” legal expert P. Sheshaiah, retired Joint Director of Prosecutions, said.
Along with other experts, he is preparing modules consisting exhaustive notes on each category of crime. The module will explain the precautions and procedures to be adopted by the investigators from preserving crime scene to filing a charge sheet.
These modules have audio and video facilities. With a huge screen in the Centre’s main hall, the experts were given video call facility also. “In future, investigators from a remote area of Mahbubnagar district can record a scene of offence and send the video to us. Or they can stream the video live and we will guide them from here,” investigation expert R. Ravinder Reddy, a retired police officer said.