The city will have its first Disha Police Station in a week’s time. This was disclosed by the Commissioner of Police R.K. Meena, here on Saturday.
He was interacting with
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Giving details about the police station, he said that the police station will be an exclusive set-up that will handle cases booked under the newly-formed Disha Act. The Bill for the Disha Act has been passed by the State and has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for its final nod and consent of the President.
“Once the President gives his consent the Act will be implemented in the State and it will deal specifically with cases related to atrocities against women. Irrespective of the area of crime, if the case is booked under the Disha Act, the case will be transferred to this police station from the area police station,” he said.
The Disha Police Station will be housed in the newly-constructed building at Yendada. While the first floor will be occupied by ACP (North) the ground floor will house this police station.
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As per Mr. Meena, the police station will have two ACP or DSP rank officers, five Sub-Inspectors, 38 constables and six head constables.
“This apart, one SI will be present at the one-stop centre, which has come up at King George Hospital. This one-stop centre will contain one SI rank officer, and at least one officer from each of the stakeholders such as a medical practitioner, one gynaecologist, one officer from the legal department and one counsellor. The centre will work 365 days and 24/7,” he said.
As per the Disha Act, investigation has to be completed within seven days and the trial has to be completed within the next 14 days. In total, the time frame provided is 21 days, from investigation to verdict.
To keep functioning within the deadline, we not only have an exclusive police station, but we have already started an exclusive court in the city with one special public prosecutor on duty round- the-clock, he said.
Three forensic labs
The government has also sanctioned three vehicles, launched the Disha App and three fully-equipped forensic labs, including one in Visakhapatnam.
The labs in Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Mangalagiri will have DNA testing facility.
According to Mr. Meena, standard operation procedures in handling Disha cases have been formulated. “Every thing has been defined in the SOP with time schedule. The SOP has clearly specified by how much time the investigating officer has to complete the investigation, including collection of material evidences and filing of FIR and charge sheet and by how much time the evidences need to be produced before the court. If there is a delay the officer concerned has to give an explanation within 24 hours. The Act also specifies that the IO has to record the statement of the victim under IPC Section 164 within 24 hours before a Magistrate,” he said.
The government has also provided a van with basic equipment for the CLUES team to gather the evidence from the crime scene and a cubicle for transporting the victim. “Training has been given to all officers and staff right from how to collect evidences, how to make the case strong, how to handle the victim and how to investigate the case,” said Mr. Meena.
Disha Command Centre
Talking about the App that was launched by the Chief Minister, the commissioner of police said that it will be available for download within the next 48 hours from playstore. “The App is compatible in all smartphones. If one is unable to call or press the button, then the victim can just shake the phone for five times,” he said.
This will activate the App and alert the staff at the Disha Command Centre at Mangalagiri.
This App facilitates both text and audio and visual communication and is GPS enabled. The staff at the command centre will then alert the nearest police station or patrol vehicle from the crime scene and the reaction time is 3 to 7 minutes, said Mr. Meena.