DIARY OF A SUB-DIVISIONAL POLICE OFFICER

I have authored a book entitled "DIARY OF A SUB-DIVISIONAL POLICE OFFICER". This relates to the period from February 1979 to August 1980, when I served in the capacity of a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Palitana subdivision of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, and is a factual account of the serious crime visited by me.

Consisting of twenty-three chapters, the contents are based on real-time investigation and supervision of serious crime which is one of the prime duties of a subdivisional officer.

The nomenclature ‘Visitable Crime’ denotes a category of offences to which special attention is paid by supervisory ranks. In India, all state police organizations have provided in the manual concerning police functioning, what constitutes a serious crime that requires the visit and thorough supervision by the SDPO. Generally, all cases of murder, culpable homicide, dacoity, robbery, housebreaking with theft involving property of a certain value and serious riots, are the focus of visitation by the subdivisional officer. Similarly, any case in which a police officer is accused of an offence, provided a complaint has been registered, is required to be visited.? During such visitation, the SDPOs are expected to identify themselves closely with the police enquiry in these serious cases.

?The narrative explains the methodical and sustained manner in which a serious crime must be attended to and also serves to highlight the logic and historical significance of some of the procedures which are followed to date. It explains with real life examples the concepts of dying declaration, discovery panchnama, discretion to abstain investigation u/s 157 (1) (b) CrPC and similar legal provisions.

Most importantly it recognizes the seminal role played by the SDPO in the supervision and investigation of crime and describes him as the prime crime officer. Inspections of police stations, writing of crime registers, checking men during night rounds, writing weekly diaries and crime memos, and holding of sammelan to interact with men, were important duties measured empirically once upon a time. Unfortunately, these have taken a backseat in today’s time.

Two ranks in the police force in India namely, the District Superintendent of Police and the Station House Officer, garner all the attention of both public and the media. Movies made by the film industry and fiction in the vernacular languages are mainly about them. The situation is not helped by the fact that even the Government as also the Head of the Police Force of any State focus their directives and orders on these two ranks. This book recognizes the critical and substantive role played by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer in the police administration of this country, particularly in detection and investigation of serious crime.