CHENNAI: Separate investigating officers needed for heinous crimes

Chennai: Although the Tamil Nadu police are notorious for their laxity in investigations, there have been instances where they have acted correctly and according to the rules. Recently, the Tamil Nadu police secured the speedy conviction of the accused who pushed Satya, a college student, at the St. Thomas Mount railway station in October 2022, and the accused in the Anna University sexual assault case. While the former case was handled by the CB-CID, the latter was handled by a court-appointed SIT (Special Investigation Team). The common thread in both cases is that the investigating team, unlike the law and order inspectors, had no other cases to focus on. Several police department officials DT Next spoke with said that the workload of law and order branch officers hinders the proper procedures for murder investigations. Some senior officials also said that the state should, like some countries, appoint dedicated officers to investigate murders and other heinous crimes through an internal examination and selection system. A senior police officer said, “However, this is a major policy decision and requires political will to implement.” According to officials, the Tamil Nadu Police Academy is offering various refresher courses and teaching standard operating procedures for investigations. It also provides police officers with a checklist of important cases and guidelines issued from time to time by various courts. Trainee police officers are also provided with an ‘investigation manual’ to enhance their skills by mastering the nuances of investigating different types of crimes. A standard operating procedure for investigations prepared by the CBI has also been distributed to all police officers to enhance their investigative skills. However, police officers say practical difficulties must also be taken into account. Another senior officer said, “In the current system, there are two inspectors for a case—one for law and order, and the other for crime. Instead, another senior inspector could be added to police stations to oversee only murder investigations, reducing the workload of the law and order officer.” “We are properly trained to follow procedures. But, somewhere, a wrong practice sets in and becomes the norm.” Criminal lawyers point to the practice of “standard charge sheets” in the police system, where, deliberately or mechanically, they are filled with flaws that lead to acquittals and judges making embarrassing comments about the police. While the embarrassment can be overcome, it can often be detrimental to society. Officials claim they have a system for reviewing acquittals, but disciplinary action against investigating officers who commit irregularities in murder cases is not seen in practice. In this regard, a comment by the Madras High Court is relevant. “In a murder case, if the case resulted in an acquittal, until recently, it was customary to seek an explanation from the investigating officer. If negligence was found in the investigation, disciplinary proceedings were initiated. However, this practice appears to have been set aside, and nowadays some officers conduct investigations at their own whims,” Justice B. Pugalendhi of the MHC remarked on the need to improve investigation methods in his scathing order dated September 8, 2020.