New criminal laws: Probe officers to be given 1 major case per month to ensure quality, says Navi Mumbai top cop

Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe said that the Police here had introduced the 'Yatharth' system, under which video recording of an incident place, statements of victims and crime scene is done as part of the probe to avoid any kind of tampering of evidence at any stage of the investigation.

Mumbai: An investigation officer will be assigned only one major case in a month for quality probe, Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe has said, asserting his force is geared up for an effective implementation of the new criminal laws.

The Navi Mumbai Police have been imparted training to maintain quality of investigation in cases, which are expected to increase with the facility to file an e-complaint under the new criminal laws, Bharambe told reporters in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township on Monday.

"The number of investigation officers at each police station in Navi Mumbai has been increased to 50-60 per cent as training has been given to the personnel at each police station level, and to maintain the quality of probe, an IO will be given only one major case in a month," he said.

Three new criminal laws came into effect on Monday, bringing far-reaching changes in India's criminal justice system.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

In the view of the new criminal laws coming into effect, the Navi Mumbai Police have given training to their personnel to maintain quality and professionalism of probe into various cases, the official said.

"With the new criminal laws, there is a facility to file e-complaint, due to which cases will increase. Hence, there is a possibility that the investigation officers would face pressure in cases, which leads to burking, ignoring or pendency of cases and the officer may not do proper justice with a case," he said.

For any quality probe, the IOs require time, the official pointed out.

Considering the situation, the Navi Mumbai Police have implemented a system of distributing the workload equally to the IOs, he said.

Bharambe also said there is emphasis on scientific evidence collection and professional investigation of a case.

The Navi Mumbai Police were following scientific evidence collection system much before passing of the new laws, he said.

Bharambe said the Navi Mumbai Police had introduced the 'Yatharth' system, under which video recording of an incident place, statements of victims and crime scene is done as part of the probe to avoid any kind of tampering of evidence at any stage of the investigation.

The Navi Mumbai Police have "I-Bikes and I-Cars" (having forensic science equipment and an expert) to go to an incident spot for evidence collection scientifically, he added.