Friday, 27 May 2011

Online tricksters land in internet

Cyber crime got another innovative twist, with a gang of six running a fake online travel agency, www.smartrip.com, to cheat people. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) cracked down on the gang, and arrested three men on Wednesday, while three others are on the run.

The gang had been operating through the website for the past one year. They invited the public to enrol as members and introduce more people to their network. Each member was promised Rs 10,000, and those who introduced four members would get a free trip to Thailand. But there was a catch: those who enrolled would first have to pay up Rs 10,000.

Police arrested M Devaprakash, 22, of Hebbal, T Balachandra, 22, of Yelahanka, and K Prashanth, 31, of Kanakapura, and spread a dragnet to nab Mahesh Loknath, Santosh Sumo and Suresh Kumar, who are believed to be part of the racket.

According to police, these men had taken money from over 200 people using this business model. Some of the victims had complained to police.

Following the arrests, police recovered Rs 1.45 lakh from these men. However, as most of the transactions were online, police expect to recover more money from the fraudsters.

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Special teams to nab tricksters in Bangalore

       After a lull, attention-diversion theft is back in the city. A day after miscreants robbed five elderly women of their gold jewellery in different areas, a special team was formed to nab these tricksters, commonly known as `Irani' gangs. They reportedly come from Hubli and Gadag in Karnataka, and Hindupur and its surrounding areas in Andhra Pradesh. Police are also looking for those arrested earlier for similar crimes. Last year, a jewellery shop owner caught one such thief when he and his accomplices tried to flee with gold. The gang had posed as customers. Police said some of these thieves had been released on bail recently.

      Joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said police suspect these miscreants stun their victims by throwing a powder which causes hallucination. "On Monday, one victim claimed she felt she was losing consciousness for a short while after these miscreants approached her. We have registered robbery cases earlier in which victims said the same thing," he said.

     A senior officer said miscreants normally pick their victims carefully and plan their attack. "In all five cases, they targeted women over 60 years of age. The culprits struck when victims were alone," he said.
On Monday, five women were robbed of their gold chains and bangles by tricksters who approached them on the pretext of seeking their blessings. After befriending victims, the gang gave them a 500-rupee note. The culprits told the victims they planned to start a business. Even as culprits sought their blessings, the victims lost consciousness for a brief spell. Taking advantage of this, the thieves fled with their gold jewellery.

Nomadic gangs
    Nomadic gangs from North Karnataka often camp near railway stations and other crowded areas. The members are related to each other and commit offences at different places before returning to their homes. Some even pose as policemen and have a distinctive modus operandi.

Monday, 23 May 2011

Chain snatchers will be booked under Goonda Act

To bring down crime rates in Bangalore, the city police are planning to detain chain-snatchers under the provision of the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum Grabbers Act, 1985, widely known as the Goonda Act.
Joint commissioner of police (crime), Alok Kumar, said, “We will book chain snatchers and robbers under the Act.”
Manjunath alias Pulsar Manja, city’s notorious chain snatcher who has more than 30 cases against him, will soon be detained. Once detained, the arrested should spend a whole year in jail, and bail will not be granted for the entire year.





Mumbai Iskcon is the real thing, Bangalore body fake: Karnataka high court


The legal battle between Bangalore and Mumbai arms of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) ended on Monday with the Karnataka high court ruling that the Mumbai Iskcon had rights over the properties of Iskcon, Bangalore.
Hearing the regular first appeal (RFA) filed by Iskcon, Mumbai challenging the April 17 verdict of IX additional civil and sessions court ruling that the property in Harekrishna Hills in Rajajinagar belonged to Iskcon, Bangalore, a special division bench of justices HN Nagamohan Das and Arali Nagraj on Monday observed that the Bangalore body had no right over the scheduled properties.
Iskcon, Bangalore then filed an application seeking a stay on the high court order until it could file an appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. The application will come up for hearing on Tuesday.
The bench observed that Iskcon, Bangalore was not a legally constituted body and it was a branch of the Mumbai outfit.
The society and office-bearers of Iskcon, Bangalore have no right to interfere with the functioning and managing of the properties in the city.
They had miserably failed to prove the legal existence of Iskcon, Bangalore as an independent autonomous body, it said.
The court also said that there was no evidence on record to show as to when Madhu Pandit Das, president of Iskcon, Bangalore enrolled as a member of the organisation.
It further observed that Iskcon, Bangalore was a defunct society and was taking advantage of the similarity in its name with that of Mumbai Iskcon.
It had fabricated documents and was falsely claiming its right over the properties. There was no evidence on record to show that the properties were built by Iskcon, Bangalore.
The bench further directed that Madhu Pandit Das and other full-time devotees were entitled to continue to function at the Iskcon, Bangalore in accordance with the byelaws and rules of the Mumbai Iskcon.
The Karnataka high court observed that Iskcon, Bangalore was to conduct its first general body within 18 months of its registration in 1978 and elect a governing body.
However, it had not done so which was a clear violation under the Section 1(2) of the Karnataka Societies Registration Act.
From 1978 till March 2002, the plaintiff society had not even filed its returns with the income tax department.
The society filed its income tax returns for the first time in March 2002, showing a fund of about Rs35.59 crore in its balance sheet, the court pointed out.
Iskcon, Bangalore failed to show that it was owner of the immovable property bearing survey nos 174 and 175 in Ketamaranahalli which is now Rajajinagar II stage and property measuring six acres and eight guntas at No 3, 1st cross, 3rd stage Gokula, Mysore.

Iskcons gird up their loins for battles off court too

The Karnataka high court’sorder that the Mumbai Iskcon is real title holder for the Bangalore Iskcon properties, sent the the two parties into a tizzy.
Within hours of the judgement, there was a flurry of activity at the West of Chord Road headquarters of Iskcon, Bangalore.
Local Iskcon authorities immediately sought the enhancement of police presence at their West of Chord Road complex. Additional police forces were rushed to the complex. Besides civil policemen, private security personnel too man the Iskcon complex.
Representatives of Mumbai Iskcon, meanwhile, petitioned GT Ajjappa, ACP, Malleswaram subdivision, alleging that the Bangalore outfit was plotting to smuggle out of the West of Chord Road premises computers with valuable data.
They urged the city police to prevent this as the high court had declared Mumbai Iskcon as the rightful owner of the Bangalore properties.
Over 200 devotees of Mumbai Iskcon said to be camping in Bangalore are believed to be working on taking physical control of the Iskcon complex on West of Chord Road, following the Karnataka high court delivering the judgment in their favour.
According to sources, devotees are staying in groups in Bangalore city and are likely to enter the Radha Krishna Temple to take physical posession of the property.
In view of the high court declining to grant temporary stay on its judgment and the Supreme Court being on vacation, any intervention by the Apex Court is expected to take at least three to four days.
The Mumbai Iskcon devotees’ plan is to take possession of the property before that, sources added.

List of illegal LPG consumers in Karnataka may be announced in 15 days

The food and civil supplies department is still unable to fix a deadline to release the list of illegal ration card holders and LPG consumers in Karnataka.
That is no surprise as DNA has found out that the department has committed errors at all stages of building the database.
By the end of February 28, it had received more than three crore documents. After the officials collected the data, the sorting work started. Electricity bills were given to the respective electricity supply companies in the state, LPG consumer identity documents were given to oil and petroleum companies and ration cards were validated by the department itself.
“When the work of validation started, getting data corrected by each of the distribution and oil companies proved a heavy task. While the oil companies kept sending the data, they did not match with our records and the electricity bills. This is why the process got delayed,” said BA Harish Gowda, secretary, food and civil supplies department.
In rural areas, the department validated the ration cards with property documents. There were many stumbling blocks, said a source. Verifying property documents was another big task as it had to be done with the district development authorities and at taluk level to get the correct information.
Gowda admitted that the data entry work was shoddy at the preliminary stages. “Our officials made many mistakes during the data entry stage. We are re-doing it to ensure that it is error-free. We will avoid any problem in future,” he said.
However, he said that the data entry for urban areas has almost been completed and the department would be able to publish the list for urban areas in another 15 days.
“The whole exercise was like someone taking an untrodden path. The department faces the huge task of checking the documents. So it is taking time. But we do not want any errors in the final list. We don’t want to inconvenience people,” said Gowda.

Online sex racket busted, 3 girls arrested in Bangalore.






More cases of online soliciting are surfacing in IT City, with the Central Crime Branch ( CCB) busting a prostitution racket on Saturday. It operated through a website to solicit clients.

Three sex workers -- Mahi Besoya, 21, Sonia Kamthe, 22, Sania Ansari, 22 -- and Mary Agnus, a hotel receptionist who facilitated prostitution at a hotel on Brigade Road, were arrested.

The racket used a website www.bangaloreescortservices.com to get their customers. Mobile numbers were available on the website for customers to call.

New Delhi-based Rakesh is said to be the key man behind this pan-India racket. He would supply girls to Bangalore from Mumbai and Delhi on a 10-day contract.

Two men, Kumar and Michael, handled the business in the city. These men booked rooms in many hotels across the city for their illegal activities, said R Lakshman, assistant commissioner of police, woman trafficking and narcotics.

Police sources said that some hotel employees too worked for Kumar and Michael, for a commission.

HOW THE RACKET WAS BUSTED

On receiving information about the online service, a police decoy contacted the mobile number given on the website, on Saturday night. The man on the phone -- later identified as Kumar -- directed the police decoy to Brigade Road, and from there to the hotel.

On reaching the hotel, Kumar told the decoy to pass the phone to the hotel receptionist, Mary Agnus. After taking a deposit of Rs 10,000 from him, Mary directed him to a room with two girls.

"In order to get more members arrested, our man rejected the girls and called Kumar again. He asked him to come to Ananth Rao Circle. From there, he was asked to go to a hotel in Seshadripuram, where another girl was waiting for him," said Lakshman.

Based on information by the decoy, police raided these hotels and arrested the girls, and are now looking out for the three men -- Rakesh, who is said to be operating from Delhi, and Kumar and Michael, in Bangalore.

Among the three prostitutes, Sania Ansari is from Mumbai. She was staying in the hotel in Seshadripuram since May 21. According to police, during her stint here, she made Rs 1.85 lakh which she had deposited in two bank accounts.

BOOKIES ARRESTED IN BANGALORE






Central Crime Branch police arrested two men for their alleged involvement in cricket betting. N Vikas, 41, a resident of Indiranagar, and Muralidhar, a resident of Yelahanka, were arrested following a raid on an office in the House of Lords building on St Mark's Road on Saturday.

Bets were being placed when Deccan Chargers Hyderabad were playing Kings XI Punjab at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday.

Police recovered Rs 2.55 lakh in cash, a colour television and mobile phones. Two men, Harish and Shiv, managed to escape, police said.

Head constable ends life, reason not known





A police head constable consumed poison and ended his life on Sunday morning. Ramachandra, 51, was found dead near his City Armed Reserve police quarters in Adugodi.

Around 6am, some passersby found him on an empty plot close to the CAR quarters. They approached him, presuming he was unconscious, but found he was dead and informed police. The body was shifted to Bowring Hospital.

The reasons behind his death are yet to be known. According to his family, he had health problems which could have triggered the suicide.

According to City Armed Reserve officials, Ramachandra joined the police force 27 years ago and was posted in Bangalore South for the past few years.

Cops to ask women bar attendars their age





City police have decided to conduct an age-test drive on women bartenders and massage centre employees to prevent minor girls from being employed and pushed into possible human trafficking.

Police, who arrested a few women from massage parlours for alleged illegal activities, found that some were minors, and were brought to the city with the promise of jobs.

City police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji on Friday said they would keep a strict vigil on bars, massage parlours and other places where women are employed.

"Some massage parlours are alleged to be carrying out illegal activities. A recent raid on an apartment in Viveknagar proved it," he said.

Mirji said investigations had revealed that some girls were brought to the city on the pretext of employment. "Miscreants who bring these poor girls on the pretext of getting them jobs and misuse them, will be severely dealt with, and will face kidnap and rape charges," he added.

In the second week of May, Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths raided a massage parlour in JC Nagar and arrested 10 persons, including nine women, for an alleged prostitution racket. Of the nine, three were from Delhi, West Bengal and Delhi.

According to joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar, many girls conceal their age during raids. "Detecting the exact age of girls employed at bars and massage centres is not easy. We have cases where minor girls deliberately hide their identity. Police have directed employers to provide ID cards to all their female employees," he added.

LABOUR LAWS BIND EMPLOYERS

The Karnataka Labour Act has laid down rules for those employing women at workplaces, particularly at bars and massage parlours. They should

* not force them to indulge in any kind of illegal activities

* not damage their reputations or outrage their modesty

* make transportation arrangements if working on night shifts

Two students steal gold worth 28 lakh Rupees.

The siblings are minors but are in judicial custody today for stealing gold worth Rs 28 lakh from the house of the employer of their mother. They sold some of it, took money by pledging some and kept the rest under their bed and in the cupboard.

As the siblings were minors, they were produced before the juvenile court.

The boy, 15, a 9th standard student, and his sister, 17, studying first year PUC, along with three men who they befriended made an elaborate plan to steal gold from the house over three months. Their mother works as a maid in the house. Jagadish, the employer, is a gold merchant and had stocked jewels at home.

Police said the mother had been working in the house for the past 15 years and her children had visited the house many times. They knew where the gold and the keys were kept.

THE PLAN

The siblings were friends with three men Mahesh alias Kulla, 20, Mahesh alias Lambu, 23, and Venkatamadhu, 23, who ran a store in Gandhinagar. After the children told them about the gold in the house and their proximity to the family, they started planning the robbery in January.

As planned, the duo went to the house on the pretext of seeing their mother and stole a bunch of keys. With the help of the associates, they made duplicate keys in February and waited for the right opportunity to strike.

The children and their associates found about the pattern of the family's daily routine. They knew when the family used to go out and were also aware of their travel plans.

Thus, whenever Jagadish's family went out of station, they used to steal from the house. Over three months, they stole 1,400 grams of gold worth Rs 28 lakh.

COMPLAINT FILED

Jagadish grew suspicious over the missing jewellery. On April 27, he filed a complaint with the Hanumanthnagar police station.

As there was no evidence of forceful entry into the house, police suspected that it was an insider's job. While monitoring those close to the family, police found the children suspicious and kept them under surveillance.

Based on the circumstantial evidence, the siblings were taken into custody. During interrogation, they confessed to the crime.

THEY PLEDGED SOME, SOLD SOME

Investigation revealed that they had pledged 254 grams of gold with a gold finance firm, gold ornaments weighing 279 grams with a finance company on DVG Road, Gandhi Bazaar, and 12 grams of gold jewellery with a pawn broker on DVG Road.

Police recovered 1,436 grams worth Rs 28.72 lakh and cash of Rs 3,20,600, money obtained from selling the gold, from them.

NOTIFICATION ISSUED

Following the incident, police have issued notification to organizations providing loan on gold to check the source of the ornaments before granting loan on them.

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Student drowns in lake

         A 16-year-old student, who went to Kundalahalli Lake to learn swimming, drowned on Wednesday evening. The body was fished out on Thursday morning. The victim, M Manjunath, a class 8 student at Varthur government school, went to swim with his two friends on Wednesday afternoon, police said. Manjunath's father Muniyappa said his son went to the lake around 3 pm. This, despite his father warning him about the depth of the lake. The two boys who had accompanied Manjunath came back around 7 pm saying Manjunath had drowned. "Immediately, Muniyappa and others hurried to the spot. Even fire brigade personnel were alerted. But the body could not be fished out due to darkness. The search operation resumed on Thursday morning. "Around 11 am, the body was fished out". Later, the body was handed over to the family. Muniyappa is a daily wage worker and resides in Ashwatha Nagar, Marathalli.

Saturday, 14 May 2011

Mission Statement

       We, the members of Bangalore City Police, shall uphold the Law and the Rights of all people for a safe and secure environment, conducive to their internal and external growth and development.
Towards this end, we set for ourselves the following objectives.
Objectives
Protect the lives and liberties of the people from criminal and anti- social elements Earn the good will, support and active assistance of the community. Co-ordinate with other departments of criminal Justice System.

Equal treatment regardless of caste, religion, social and economic status or political affiliations. Due consideration for women, children, senior citizens and weaker sections. Improve professional knowledge, skills and attitudes and adopt modern methods in police work.

Promote human rights and professional values of integrity, honesty and efficiency. Accept and play our role in social transformation and bring about improvement in the quality of life with society.

Citizen Charter


BASIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF POLICE
Basic duties of the Police are maintenance of Law and Order, prevention and detection of crime, traffic management, enforcement of various laws of the land.

BRIEF ORGANIZATIONAL SET UP OF KARNATAKA POLICE
The Karnataka State Police Force is headed by the Director General of Police. In the discharge of his duties, he is assisted by staff officers in the headquarters and officers in-charge of special and various field units.The police administration in the District is headed by an Officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police. A group of districts are put under one Range and there is an Officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police heading each Range in Karnataka State. The Police administration in Bangalore City is headed by Commissioner of Police of the rank of Addl. DGP and Mysore and Hubli-Dharwad Cities headed by Commissioners of Police of the rank of Dy. Inspector General of Police. All these Officers report to the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka.

CITIZEN'S RIGHTS
The citizens have certain rights with reference to the duties of the Police as stated above. As a step towards transparency and accountability in administration, a Citizens charter has been issued with reference to the duties to be performed by the Police Officers in Karnataka State.

INVESTIGATION OF CRIME  
      Any citizen who has knowledge of preparation or commission of any crime or who has any complaint to make with reference to the duties of the Police as enumerated above can approach the Police Station and give such information available with him or her.
  
      If any such information furnished to the Police at the Police station discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, a First Information Report (F.I.R) shall be issued by the Officer in-charge of the Police Station and a copy of the same shall be given forthwith to complainant who gave the information leading to the registration of FIR free of cost as per Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Offences against Law are classified into two heads: (a) Cognizable and (b) Non-Cognizable. Offences under the Indian Penal code or special and other local laws in which Police Officers are authorised to arrest without warrant are cognizable. Other offences are non-cognizable  
      According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, any officer of the rank of Head Constable and above can function as the Station House Officer in-charge of the Police Station. In the absence of Police Sub-Inspector, the senior most Assistant Sub-Inspector present at the Police Station or the senior most Head Constable present functions as the Station House Officer. (Section 2 (o) of the Code of Criminal Procedure)
 
      If the complaint/ information is given orally, it is the duty of the Station House Officer of the Police Station approached to reduce the said complaint into writing, read it over to the complainant and on his or her acceptance about the correctness of the recorded statement, obtain his or her signature and issue the FIR.

      If any Station House Officer refuses to take cognizance of the complaint which discloses a cognizable offence, the concerned citizen can send the substance of the complaint in writing by post or hand it over in person to the Superintendent of Police of the district having jurisdiction over that Police Station and in the areas coming under the Commissioner of Police to the Deputy Commissioner of Police having jurisdiction over such Police Station. The concerned Superintendent of Police /Deputy Commissioner of Police, if satisfied, that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, shall either investigate the case himself /herself or direct an investigation to be made by any Police Officer sub-ordinate to him/her (Section 154 Cr.P.C).
  
      In case, the complaint made to the Police Officer by the citizen does not disclose the commission of any cognizable offence, the concerned Police Officer in-charge of the Police Station can refuse investigation into the complaint.
 
      If such a complaint is made in writing, the Station House Officer of the Police Station must issue an acknowledgement for having received the complaint.
 
      If the complainant is not satisfied by the refusal of the Police to register a case on his or her complaint, he or she can approach the court and if directed by the Court in writing, the concerned Police Officer shall register the case and investigate as per orders of the Court. In such cases, the Police Officer does not have power to arrest without warrant.
  
      If the Station House Officer is satisfied that there are no sufficient grounds to investigate the case, he can record his reason in the F.I.R. and inform the complainant to that effect and send a copy of the F.I.R. to the Court and also issue an endorsement to the complainant to this effect.

      In case, the place of occurrence of the offence does not fall in the jurisdiction of the Police Station at which the complaint has been made or the FIR has been registered, the Station House Officer after registering the F.I.R. should transfer the case to the Police Station having jurisdiction over the place of occurrence and inform the complainant regarding this transfer. This fact has to be mentioned in the F.I.R. itself. On the ground of jurisdiction alone, issue of F.I.R. should not be refused or delayed.

  11.      Police Officer investigating a case should keep the complainant informed in writing regarding progress made in the investigation of grave crimes and interact with the victims or their kith and kin once in a month.

  12.      After completion of investigation the investigating officer should send written information under acknowledgement to the complainant informing him of the exact nature of the final report of the investigation in the case.

  13.      In the event of the complaint being closed as false or mistake of fact or mistake of law or undetected, the complainant has the right to challenge the Police report in the court.

  14.      A Police Officer investigating the case has the power to secure the attendance of any person who appears to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case and examine such person.

  15.      No woman or male person under the age of 15 years shall be required to attend at any place other than the place in which such male person or woman resides.

  16.      A Police officer may without an order from a Magistrate and without warrant, arrest any person under section 41 & 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

  17.      According to section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure any Police Officer may without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person.

      Who has been concerned in any cognizable offence, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made, or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists, of his having been so concerned; or

      (a) Who has in his possession without lawful excuse the burden of providing which excuse shall lie on such person, an implement of house breaking : or
      (b) Who has been proclaimed as an offender either under this Code or by the order of the State Government; or
      (c) In whose possession anything is found which may reasonably be suspected to be stolen property and who may reasonably suspected of having committed an offence with reference to such thing; or
      (d) Who obstructs a police officer while in the execution of his duty, or who has escaped, or attempts to escape, from lawful custody; or
      (e) Who is reasonably suspected of being a deserter from any of the armed forces of the union; or
      (f) Who has been concerned in, or against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received, or a reasonable suspicion exists, of his having been concerned in, any act committed at any place out of India which, if committed in India, would have been punishable as an offence, and for which is under any law relating to extradition or otherwise, liable to apprehended or detained in custody in India: or
      (g) Who, being a released convict, commits a breach of any rule, made under sub-section(5) of Section 356 code of criminal procedure; or
      (h) For whose arrest any requisition, whether written or oral, has been received from another police officer, provided that the requisition specifies the person to be arrested and the offence or other cause for which the arrest is to be made and it appears therefrom that the person might lawfully be arrested without a warrant by the Officer who issued the requisition.
      Any officer in-charge of a police station may, in like manner, arrest, or cause to be arrested any persons, belonging to one or more of the categories of persons specified in Section 109 or Section 110.

  18.      According to section 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
      (a) When any person who, in the presence of a police officer, has committed or has been accused of committing a non-cognizable offence refuses, on demand of such officer, to give his name and residence or gives a name or residence which such officer has reasons to believe to be false, he may be arrested by such officer in order that his name or residence may be ascertained.
      (b) When the true name and residence of such person have been ascertained, he shall be released on his executing a bond, with or without sureties, to appear before a Magistrate if so required; Provided that, if such person is not resident of India, the bond shall be secured by a surety or sureties resident in India.
      (c) Should the true name and residence of such person not be ascertained within twenty-four hours from the time of arrest or should he fail to execute the bond, or, if so required, to furnish sufficient sureties, he shall forthwith be forwarded to the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction.

  19.      Any citizen may also arrest any person under the circumstances listed in section 43 of the code of Criminal Procedure. According this section;
      (a) Any private person may arrest or cause to be arrested any person who in his presence commits a non-bailable and cognizable offence, or any proclaimed offender, and, without unnecessary delay, shall make over or cause to be made over any person so arrested to a police officer, or, in the absence of a police officer take such person or cause him to be taken in custody to the nearest police station.
      (b) If there is reason to believe that such person comes under the provisions of Section 41, a police officer shall re-arrest him.
      (c) If there is reason to believe that he has committed a non-cognizable offence, and he refuses on the demand of a police officer to give his name and residence, or gives a name or residence which such officer has reason to believe to be false, he shall be dealt with under the provisions of Section 42; but if there is no sufficient reason to believe that he has committed any offence, he shall be at once released;

  20.      While making the arrest of any person, the following steps are required to be taken:
      The Police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations.

      The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in register.
      The police officer carrying out the arrestee shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by atleast one witness, who may be either a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made. It shall also be counter-signed by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.

      (c) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a Police Station or interrogation center or other lock-up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other persons known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the arrestee.
      (d) The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of a arrestee must be notified by the Police where the friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through the Legal Aid Organization in the District and the Police Station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest.
      (e) The person arrested must be made aware of this right to have some one informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.
      (f) An entry must be made in the diary regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclose the name of the friend who has been informed of the arrest and the names and particulars of the Police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.
      (g) The arrestee should, where he so requests, be also examined at the time of his arrest and major and minor injuries, if any present on his/her body, must be recorded at that time. The "Inspection Memo" must be signed both by the arrestee and the Police Officer effecting arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.
      (h) The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a Government doctor every 48 hours during his detention in custody.
      (i) Copies of all the documents including the memo for arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the jurisdictional Magistrate for his record.
      (j) The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.
      (k) Information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated within 12 hours of effecting the arrest to police control room. This information should be displayed on the notice board near the Control Room.

  21.      Any person accused of a bailable offence and arrested or detained without warrant by an officer in-charge of the Police Station or such person is brought before the court and he is prepared at any time while in custody of such officer or at any stage of the proceeding before such court to give bail, such person shall be released on bail.

  22.      Properties recovered by Police are to be returned to the claimant or the owner through a court order. The claimant has to file an application in the court. The court normally asks for the opinion of the Police. Normally, the court insists on an indemnity bond to the effect that the property would be produced before the court as and when required. Police on their own can not release the seized properties to the claimant.

  23.      Whenever a Police Officer conducts a search of any place or person as authorised under the Law; he should prepare a search list indicating the articles seized from the premises or the person as the case may be in the presence of two witnesses who belong to the area where the search was conducted. A copy of the search list should be given to the owner of the place or the person from whom the seizure was made.

  24.      If the person who is suspected to be concealing any article for which a search is required to be done happens to be a woman, the search shall be made by another woman with strict regard to decency.

  25.      In a situation in which a person traveling by train loses his property, the concerned person may lodge a complaint at any place enroute on the train journey irrespective of the exact place where the property might have been lost. Such complaint may be made by the passenger to the travelling Train Ticket Examiner on the train/ Train Guard or with the Railway Police Constable/ Head Constable or any other Police Officer who may be on duty on the train regarding such a loss. The concerned passenger should give his full postal address and telephone number where he may be contacted in case of recovery of such property or for further investigation about the loss of the property. After receipt of such complaint, the concerned Train Ticket Examiner / Train Guard or Railways Police Officer is bound to get the case registered at the immediate next railway police station. It is the duty of the Railway Police Station Officer receiving such complaint firstly to register the case and to get the investigation done by the competent police officer having jurisdiction. The concerned passenger who makes the complaint need not take the trouble of going to the jurisdictional Railway PS.

II. LAW AND ORDER :
    * While on duty, Police officers shall be accessible to members of public.
    * It is the duty of every Police Officer in charge of an area to keep it peaceful and the public satisfied with the security afforded to persons and property.
    * The jurisdiction of every Police Station is normally divided into convenient areas for service of beats by the Station House Officer by deputing Police Constables/ Head Constables.
    * It is the duty of every Police officer to take all steps necessary, in proper time, to prevent breach of peace or serious riots. In the event, it takes place, all measures shall be taken by him with utmost speed to bring the situation back to normal.
    * Every Police Officer shall maintain close liaison with the important citizens of the area through citizens' committee, peace committee and mohalla committee for the maintenance of peace in the area.
    * It is the duty of every Police Officer to take firm action against antisocial elements, goondas and rowdies in that area.
    * It is the duty of the Police to maintain public order during fairs and festivals, public functions, processions, strikes, agitations etc.
    * No Police Officer shall discriminate on grounds of race, caste, community, language, religion, region, sex or political affiliation.
    * Police Officers may be deputed for a short duration, to maintain order and peace at places of entertainment, etc., by charging fees according to the scale fixed by the Government from time to time.
Citizens may contribute to the general well being of the society by rendering all assistance, cooperation and by providing information to Police Officers for the maintenance of law and order and prevention of breach of peace.

III. UNNATURAL DEATHS :
    * Under the Law, the police Officers are required to find out the cause of death in cases where they receive information that a person has committed suicide or
    * has been killed by another person or by an animal or machinery or by an accident or
    * has died under circumstances raising a reasonable suspicion of foul play.
      If the body is unidentified, the investigating Officer makes a record of the descriptive particulars of the dead-body and takes the finger impression of the deceased. The photograph of the deceased is taken. These descriptive particulars are circulated to all the surrounding stations. An inventory is prepared regarding the articles of clothing, jewellery, documents and other articles found on or near the dead body. The dead body is forwarded to the Competent Medical Officer for the purpose of post-mortem examination. In case the identity of the deceased is known, the relatives of the deceased are informed by the Police regarding the unnatural death. After the Medical Officer's examination is completed, the Police shall, unless they have received orders from a Competent Authority to the contrary, hand over the dead body to the relatives or friends of the deceased.

IV. TRAFFIC
    * All Motor Vehicle accidents where any person is injured or any property is damaged, the driver of the vehicle or other person in charge of the vehicle should report about the occurrence of the accident at the nearest Police Station as soon as possible and in any case within 24 hours of the occurrence.
    * It is the duty of the drivers of the vehicle involved in an accident to take all reasonable steps to secure medical attention for the injured persons.
    * It is the duty of all the Registered Medical Practitioners to give medical assistance to any injured person involved in a road accident brought to him or her by any Police personnel or citizen.
    * The Police Officer who first arrives on the scene of an accident should render such first aid as possible in respect of the injured person in the road accident and take immediate necessary steps to procure medical aid or send the injured person without loss of time to the nearest hospital or any registered medical practitioner for treatment.
    * In case of accidents, property on the person of the injured/deceased should be handed over to the blood relatives or the acquaintance of the deceased who establishes his proper identity by the Police Officer under proper acknowledgement.
    * In all cases of road accidents, apart from a free copy of FIR as in all other cases, the complainant is entitled free of cost the following information in the prescribed proforma Name of the Police Station, FIR Number, Name of the accused; Name of the victim; Date and time of occurrence; place of occurrence; Registration Number, model and type of vehicle involved; Driver's name and address; Driving License particulars; Owner's name and address; Name of Insurance Company with which the vehicle is insured; and Name of the dependents in case of death of the victim. A copy of this proforma is also sent to the Legal Services Authority which decides about the compensation to be paid in the case.
    * On payment of prescribed fee, the complainant or victim of a road accident or his or her representative can obtain the copies of the following documents from the Investigating Officer.;
      i) Spot Mahazar;
      ii) Rough Sketch of the spot;
      iii) Report of Inspector of Motor Vehicles;
      iv) Final report of the investigation;
      v) Post Mortem Report in case of death;
      vi) Inquest proceedings;
      vii) Wound Ceritifcate.

    * The Police Officer can detain the vehicle involved in an accident till it is subjected to inspection by the Motor Vehicles Inspector. If the vehicle is seized by the Police officer for the purpose of inspection, the vehicle should be got released through Court obtaining an indemnity Bond.

    * In respect of the hit and run cases, resulting in grievous injuries or death of the victim where the accused is/are not traceable, there is a scheme called the Solatium Scheme. Committees have been formed in all districts of Karnataka under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioners to award compensation in such cases.Applications can be made to these committees within 6 months from the date of accidents or within 12 months if there are any special reasons for the delay. In case of claims arising out of grievous hurt, the application should be made by the person injured. Amount of compensation will be paid as fixed from time to time.The applicant has to enclose a copy of the FIR along with his application to the Deputy Commissioner. The other documents are to be obtained by the Claims Enquiry Officer appointed under the Solatium Scheme.

    * In all other cases of road accidents, in each district, there is a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal for the purpose of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in respect of accidents involving the death of, or bodily injury to, persons arising out of motor vehicles or damages to any property of a third party so arising or both.

      i)The Tribunal can be approached by
      ii) The owner of the property; or
      iii) Where death has resulted from the accident,by all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased; or
      iv) Any agent duly authorised by the person injured or all or any of the legal representatives of the deceased as the case may be.
      The application shall be made on behalf of or for the benefit of all the legal representatives of the deceased and the legal representatives who have not so joined shall be impleaded as respondents to the application.

      Application for the claim can be made either to the claims Tribunal having jurisdiction over the area in which the accident occurred or to the Claim Tribunal within the local limits where the claimant or defendant resides. The Claims Tribunal have all the powers of a Civil Court.

    * Persons with valid driving license issued by the Regional Transport Officer only can drive or ride a motor vehicle.
    * Owners of vehicles who allow their vehicles to be driven by persons without valid driving license are liable for prosecution.
    * Police Officers of and above the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector are empowered to impose fine in respect of violations under Motor Vehicles Act.
    * When a Police Officer in uniform demands production of a driving licence, it should be produced by the concerned Motor Vehicle driver. Police Officer is authorised to seize any document if he suspects that the document produced is a false document. Whenever such documents including the Driving License are seized, due acknowledgement should be given by the Police Officer who seizes it.

V. SERVICES:

    * Every Citizen who wishes to possess a fire arm may apply to the District Magistrate/Commissioner of Police giving the reasons for the possession of weapon.
      The licensing authority for the grant of Fire Arm license is the Commissioner of Police in the areas where the commissionerates exist and in the other areas, the District Magistrate of the concerned districts. The License is granted in respect of a Fire Arm of the non-phohibited category to acquire and possess for self protection by the Citizen. The District Magistrate or the Commissioner of Police to whom the application is made has the power to issue the license restricting the validity to the district level only. In suitable cases the validity could be extended to the state level by the Commissioner of Police or the District Magistrate as the case may be. The power to extend the validity of the license to cover the whole country vests with the State Government.
      After due verification of antecedents as well as the necessity to possess the fire arm sought for, such license will be granted after collecting prescribed fee.
    * Those who possess fire arms, on expiry of the arms license have to immediately deposit the weapon possessed by them with the nearest Police Station or the Arms Dealer till their license is renewed.
    * In case of death of the licensee, the next of kin should deposit the weapon for safe custody either with the nearest Police Station or with any licensed Arms Dealer. The next of kin of the licensee may claim the weapon after obtaining Arms license for himself.
    * Any person who wishes to conduct public amusement should obtain a license from the Competent Authority.
    * A license should be obtained for all public announcements made through public address system and the time stipulation made in the license should be strictly adhered to.
    * A license from the competent authority should be obtained for storage of any explosive or inflammable substance.
    * Copies of Police documents such as:-
      i) First Information Report.
      ii) Wound Certificate;
      iii) Panchanama;
      iv) Post-mortem Report.
      v) Sketch of the scene of accident;
      vi) Charge Sheet.

      Can be obtained by paying the prescribed fee through challan from the District Police Office/Commissioner of Police office.
    * Any citizen aggrieved by sound pollution can take action as provided under section 19 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Standards in respect of noise are stipulated in scheduled III as per rule 3 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.

      The citizen may approach the jurisdictional Police for taking action under section 36 & ; section 37 of the Karnataka Police Act 1963 in case of nuisance caused by sound.

VI. NATURAL CALAMITY/MAN MADE DISASTER:
It will be the duty of every Police Officer to render such measures as appears necessary for the preservation of life and property and the maintenance of law and order. All possible assistance should be rendered by the Police to the Civil Defence, Revenue, Public Works, Railways, Fire force and other Departments engaged in rescue, relief and rehabilitation work, so that remedial measures taken may be expeditious and effective.

VII. REDRESSAL OF PUBLIC GRIEVANCES:
Citizens who may have any grievances against the Police may complain in respect of their grievances to the following authorities:

    * Office of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Nrupathunga Road, Bangalore -I.G.P. Grievances & Human Rights Cell Telephone No. (O) 22213431,22942105 ® 26715388, 22942866. Complaints of any citizen from any part of Karnataka State may be made to this officer.
    * Commissioner of Police, Bangalore City, Infantry Road, Bangalore DCP (Administration) Telephone No. (O) 22200918 ® 22862335. Complaints of any citizen from any part of Bangalore City may be made to this officer.
    * Commissioner of Police, Hubli-Dharwad City DCP (Crime) Telephone No. (O) 0836 2233501 ® 0836 2233401. Complaints of any citizen from any part of Hubli-Dharwad City may be made to this officer.
    * Commissioner of Police, Mysore City DCP (Crime) Telephone No. (O) 0821 2418101 ® 0821 2418201. Complaints of any citizen from any part of Mysore City may be made to this officer.
    * Complaints from any citizen residing within the limits of any District may be made to the officer designated as Deputy Superintendent of Police whose office is located in that particular district headquarters. In the case of Railways such complaints from the Citizens may be made to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Railways), Bangalore, whose office is located at Bangalore City, Railway station.
    * Telephones have been provided to these Deputy Superintendents of Police who have been designated to receive petitions to grievances of the public. Citizens may make use of them to inform about their grievances regarding functioning of the jurisdictional Police Officers. The current telephone numbers at which these officers can be contacted are furnished at Annexure - 5 .
      The above officers have been designated only for convenience. However, citizens are free to address their grievances to any other senior Police Officer as well.

      In the district, each Village is visited by the beat Police Constables & Head constables from each police station having /jurisdiction over the village. Any citizen from the village can inform the beat police constable or the Head constable about his or her grievance. The beat police constable or Head constable will convey the said grievance to the concerned authority for suitable action.

      In case the complaint is against any particular police officer, then the citizen can lodge the complaint with any officer senior in rank to the officer complained against. The organizational chart is given in Annexure 3 & 4 of the charter. Whenever a citizen makes a petition/complaint, he shall be given an acknowledgement and issued an endorsement regarding action taken to the petitioner,.

      In addition to this, Citizens Committees have been formed in each Police Station. Citizens from all walks of life are being co-opted to this Committee. The Citizens Committee meetings are held periodically in the Police Stations and they offer suggestions and bring grievances of the local people to the knowledge of the Officers incharge of the Police Station. Invariably, the Circle Inspector and ACPs supervising the working of the Police Station are also present during such meetings. A separate register has been maintained and important suggestions and grievances expressed by the members of the Citizens Committee are entered in this register and efforts are made to redress the grievances.

      Police Officers conduct "Daliths Day" on the last Sunday of every month. During such meetings, representatives of daliths are being invited to the Police Station and their grievance are heard. A separate register in the Police Station is maintained and efforts are being made to redress the grievances expressed in those meetings.

      A meeting of victims of crime with the investigating officers of grave crimes which are pending investigation is held once a month in each sub-divisional headquarters. The complainants in grave crimes which are still pending investigation are invited to this meeting and they shall be provided information about the state of the investigation, reasons for non-detection and efforts made to detect and finalise the case.

      Help-lines for children (Makkala Sahayavani), women (Vanitha Sahayavani) and senior citizens are functioning in Commissionerates and District headquarters. These help-lines can be contacted by the citizens in appropriate situations and the police officers manning these help lines will be available to render suitable assistance.

VIII. CONTROL ROOM:
Police Control Rooms shall work all the 24 hours in the district headquarters/Commissionerates. In case of emergency, public can contact the Control Room by dialing telephone 100 for immediate police assistance.

IX. DUTIES OF CITIZENS:
According to Article 51A of the Constitution of India, it is the duty of every citizen of India to safe guard public property and to abjure violence.

The law also makes it compulsory for the citizens to report to the police, if they have witnessed or they have any information about the following offences made punishable under the Law.
(a) Offences against the State.
(b) Offences against the public tranquility.
(c) Offences relating to adulteration of food and drugs etc.
(d) Offences affecting life.
(e) Offences relating to kidnapping for ransom.
(f) Offences of theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of the theft.
(g) Offences of robbery and dacoity.
(h) Offences relating to Criminal Breach of Trust by public servant.
(i) Offences of mischief against property.
(j) Offences of house or lurking house trespass as specified in Sections 449 and 450 Indian Penal code.
(k) Offences relating to currency notes and bank notes. Omission to give such information is punishable in Law.

It is the duty of the Citizens to co-operate with the Police in investigation of the case at the time of drawing up search and seizure Mahazar, spot Mahazar or inquest proceedings in the interest of furthering criminal justice.

POLICE


The police are persons empowered to enforce the law, protect property and reduce civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as organizations separate from any military forces, or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie and military police are military units charged with policing.

Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th century and early 19th century, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. 

Alternative names for police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, civil guard or civic guard. Members can be police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards.Police of the Soviet-era Eastern Europe are (or were) called militsiya. The Irish police are called the Garda Síochána ("guardians of the peace"); a police officer is called a garda. As police are often in conflict with individuals, slang terms are numerous. Many slang terms for police officers are decades or centuries old with lost etymology.