“30th Informal Discussion Group Session by Mr. Arun Bothra on ‘Police Investigations: Insights and Challenges 22th March 2023’. “
On 22nd March, 2023 the Informal Discussion Group of NLU, Odisha had organized a guest lecture with Mr. Arun Bothra, the Additional DGP, CID – CB and Transport Commissioner of Odisha. The session was conducted in the Seminar Hall in the Academic Block. The session commenced at 4:30 pm and continued for 1 hour, followed by the 30 minutes of QnA round. The opening remarks was given by Prof. (Dr.) Sheela Rai, Dean (Academics).
The guest started the session by talking about the challenges in the police investigation. He believed that police officers, while investigating, focused more on getting the accused convicted, and they often forget that after investigation, the process is not complete and getting the right judgment from the court is necessary. The police officers often ignore the trial part of the criminal justice system, due to which sometimes innocent people get punished.
Another challenge faced in the police investigation, as discussed by the guest, is that police officers do not know the importance of digital evidence. Investigating officers often rely on oral evidence under Section 161 CrPC. He shared some instances where the police officers could have used digital evidence to trace location of accused as well as the victim. The guest believed that the collection of digital evidence is very crucial for an investigation as the technological evidence is more accurate when compared to oral evidence.
Moreover, the guest gave insights from his own investigations. He shared his experience on the sensational Patnagarh Parcel Bomb case, which he considered the most difficult case in Odisha’s history. He meticulously explained the entire investigation by narrating the way in which evidence was collected and used by police to find the culprit behind the bombing.
Thereafter, the Q&A session began at 5:30 pm. The first question asked was related to the guest’s experience as to whether legal procedures act as an obstacle in case of investigations. The guest replied that there are discrepancies in the law, which pose a challenge during investigations. Another question asked was about work-life balance considering that there are various reports which suggest that police officers are understaffed and are overworked. The guest stated that all work in their branch is carried out as a team. The guest believed that planning, supervising, monitoring and having a work-life balance is very important.
The session concluded with the Registrar, Prof. (Dr.) Rangin Pallav Tripathy, presenting the momento to the distinguished guest and Ms. Ankeeta Gupta, Faculty Advisor of IDG, delivering the vote of thanks.
