CHENNAI: Claiming it to be the first-of-its-kind in the country, the State police have launched a new SMS facility through which summon details of a case can be sent to witnesses for them to appear before court for hearing. This aims at a faster trial of the case, said a police officer. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami introduced the facility on Thursday.
Speaking to Express, the senior police officer said this was the first time in the country that the police department was introducing a facility in which an SMS would be sent to the witness to appear before the court. “To make it more comfortable for the witness, the message will be sent in the regional language,” the officer added.
The SMS will have details, including the name of the police station, crime number, name of the court where the witness has to appear, the date and time, case details and contact numbers of the police station to get further assistance.
Previously, before a trial began in the court, a summon copy would be issued to the police personnel who had to go directly to the house of the witness and hand over the copy. “In such cases, if the witness is out of station or has gone out, then there is a delay in delivering the summon copy. With the new facility, this can be avoided,” said the officer.
The officer further said that when the case was reported, all details of the witness, including the phone number, would be saved in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System. “When the summon copy comes, the particular police station will have a login ID and a password that can be used to send the SMS. The same details are used to upload the FIR in the website,” explained the officer.
Police buildings inaugurated
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday inaugurated buildings constructed at a cost of `24.22 crore for the police across the State, through video-conferencing. He inaugurated 41 police quarters along with a police station and an armoury in Virudhunagar. Besides, four police stations were inaugurated, each at Pallikaranai in Chennai, Veeranam in Salem, Roshanai and Ginjee in Villupuram, built at a cost of `2,04,93,000. Also, 120 police quarters across the State were inaugurated
To make it more comfortable for the witness, the message will be sent in the regional language
A senior police offficial