New Criminal Laws Set to Transform Policing; Bhopal Police Officials Laud Benefits For Complainants, Emphasize Advantages For Women

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The three new criminal laws are slated to turn effective across the country after two days. Amidst this, Free Press spoke to the senior police officials of Bhopal to know their stance about the efficacy of the laws, and the ways in which it would benefit both the police administration, as well as the complainants. Senior officials of the Bhopal police commissionerate system told Free Press that the pre-requisites mandated under the new criminal laws shall prove fruitful in bridging the gap between the police, as well as the complainants. Adding to this, they said that the new laws shall benefit the female complainants substantially.

It is noteworthy that notable changes have been introduced to the Bharatiya Nyay Suraksha Samhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita 2023 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023. Shedding light on the details of the same, the police officials said that a slew of provisions have been implemented for the convenience of the women complainants, which include registration of online FIR by women, as well as the flexibility to register their grievance at any police station near them, irrespective of their native place and the place of residence.

Additional Commissioner's Take

Additional Commissioner of police (Law and order) of Bhopal, Awadhesh Goswami told Free Press that in case, any woman is about to be arrested for an offence, she will now have the right to inform any person about her arrest. He went on to say that the police have now been mandated to record the audios and videos of the female complainants, to bring more transparency while probing their cases.

Exemption to these people from going to the police station to avail aid from the police: Sources

Sources at the police commissionerate system told Free Press that female complainants, as well as children below 15 years of age, senior citizens and specially-abled people will be exempted from the mandatory measure to go to the police station to lodge their complaints. They will be able to avail aid by the police personnel at their residence itself, if the need for the same arises. In addition to this, they claimed that in cases of crimes against women, all efforts shall be pressed to record the statements of the female complainant by a female magistrate.

Various perks for other complainants too

Requesting anonymity, a senior police official said that the new laws have brought a number of perks for other complainants too. The complainants, irrespective of their gender, will be able to report any incident to the police by the electronic means of communication. Additionally, the complainants will have the right to obtain the progress of the complaint filed with the police, once in every 90 days.