Gujarat has become the second state after Madhya Pradesh to allow the constabulary to conduct investigation into criminal cases, including arresting the accused and filing chargesheets.

The move is intended to avoid the piling up of criminal cases, as till now, these were allowed to be investigated by Sub-Inspectors (SIs) and Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASIs) only. As the number of SIs and ASIs are not enough in the police force, this generally delays the investigation process.

The decision was taken by Director General of Police (DGP) S S Khandwawala recently, by using the provisions in Section 23(F) of the Bombay Police Act 1951, which is applicable in the state. A notification (a copy of which is with of this newspaper) to this effect was issued on June 18.

The provision allows the DGP and police commissioners to decide the duties to be carried out by the personnel of all ranks and grades in their jurisdiction.

But before taking the decision, the DGP and senior police officers dwelt deep into the issue. As the Rajkot police commissionerate had been using constables for investigations into bailable cases since 2000 itself, the DGP procured a report on the performance of constables who have investigated hundreds of cases in the last nine years and chargesheeted the accused.

The report was an eye opener for Khandwawala and other officers. They found that investigations in majority of the cases ended up in convictions. This convinced Khandwawala and his colleagues to extend it all over the state.

The notification particularly noted that majority of the constables recruited in the last few years possessed graduate and postgraduate qualifications with sufficient knowledge of computer operation. So, it was worthwhile to use them for investigations of criminal offences as well.

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