Kerala government to revamp state Crime Branch
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bringing in a major structural and administrative revamp that could have a major impact in investigation of cases, the government has decided to reconstitute the state Crime Branch.
Now onwards, the Superintendents of Police (SP) in each district will be in-charge of the Crime Branch wing in the respective district. In what could be termed as a move to avoid administrative hassles, the Cabinet decided to reconstitute the Crime Branch on the basis of revenue districts, rather than the existing system where jurisdictions are decided based on the nature of crime.
Also, the Crime Branch CID would be renamed as Crime Branch. The reconstituted Crime Branch will have one district under each SP. Currently, ADGPs, IGs and SPs are given charge based on the nature of crimes like economic offences, pre-planned crimes, injuries and murders, and temple theft. In addition, there were special wings like Cyber Crime and Anti Piracy.
The government is of the view the existing structure poses major difficulties for crime investigation. An SP-rank officer posted in one district will have to handle investigation in other districts also. Currently, the SP in charge of investigation of economic offences, also handles the charge of Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts. This creates inconvenience for the victims also.
Taking all these factors into consideration, the Cabinet decided to make SPs in charge of each revenue district. Once implemented, the Kollam SP will have the charge of Pathanamthitta also. The Kozhikode SP will hold charge of Wayanad while the SP in charge of Kannur will have the additional charge of Kasargod.