Chennai: Amid incidents of custodial deaths and increasing Covid-19 cases, Tamilnadu Director-General of Police J K Tripathy has issued an order to all Commissioners/ Superintendents of Police that investigating officers should not arrest suspects involved in cognizable offences where the punishment under law is seven years in prison or less.
According to reports, if such an arrest and judicial custody is inevitable, the police should submit a remand report to the judicial magistrate court justifying the decision.
Late last month too, Tripathy had issued strict guidelines on dealing with those arrested with non-bailable and bailable offences.
In a circular issued to Commissioners and SPs, Tripathy taking a serious note of the death of a trader and his son allegedly due to police excesses, in fresh guidelines said those arrested under non-bailable offences should be taken to Detention-cum-Production Centre to be set up in all sub-divisions instead of the police station.
He said those arrested under non-bailable sections and are to beproduced in the court should be taken to the Centre and a policeteam should bring them to the Centre after conducting post-arrest medical examination along with screening for coronavirus.
Stating that documentation formalities would be done in the detentioncentre, he said since the High Court had directed the police to resort to electronic video linkage for producing the accused before the courteven for the first time after the arrest, senior police officers should make necessary arrangements and keep the Magistrates/Judges informed about the matter.