Latest news with #PoliceForce
Independent Singapore
13 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
21-year-old arrested and charged for molesting 12-year-old on board MRT train
Depositphotos/LyazaTretyakova A 21-year-old man was charged in court today (July 23) in a case of outrage of modesty involving a minor, after he was arrested earlier this week. The police said in a statement that they received a call for assistance early on Monday morning (July 21), around 6.45 am. The police were informed that a man had molested a 12-year-old girl on board an MRT train. Officers from the Public Transport Security Command managed to identify the suspect through CCTV footage and follow-up probes. The suspect was arrested within 13 hours of the initial report. If found guilty of outrage of modesty against a person below 14 years of age. the man faces a jail term of up to five years, a fine, caning, or any combination of such penalties. The Singapore Police Force stressed that they have zero tolerance for sexual offenders and will take firm action against those who threaten the personal safety of the community. Members of the public are also urged to stay vigilant and report any incidents of molestation immediately. See also Man caught hanging non-foldable bicycle on MRT rails () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
TN police may get its second woman chief
CHENNAI: If the state sticks to seniority, the state police will get its second woman chief by September 1 this year. Incumbent DGP and Head of Police Force (HoPF) Shankar Jiwal's colleague from the 1990 IPS batch, Seema Agrawal, is the top-ranked among the eight DGP-rank officers who are eligible to make the cut, sources said. Jiwal's two-year tenure ends on August 31. Letika Saran is the only woman officer who has headed the TN police. TN has set the process in motion by sending the list of all DGPs eligible for the promotion to the union government. Along with Agrawal, who currently heads the state Fire and Rescue Services, the other DGPs who are eligible to be the HoPF are Rajeev Kumar, Sandeep Rai Rathore, Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G Venkatraman, Vinit Wankhede and Sanjay Mathur.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu prepares panel to appoint the next Director-General of Police
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to send a list of eligible officers of the rank of Director-General of Police to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for shortlisting a panel to appoint the next DGP/Head of Police Force. Initiating the process in compliance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case relating to the appointment of DGPs, the Home Department has sought the willingness of the officers to head the force. Revised guidelines The tenure of the incumbent, Shankar Jiwal, comes to an end on August 31. The selection of officers will also be in tune with the revised guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. According to the new rule, only officers of the rank of DGP in the Level-16 pay matrix will be eligible. Earlier, all IPS officers who had completed 30 years of service were entitled to be included in the list. The UPSC empanelment committee — headed by its chairperson and comprising the Union Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary, the DGP of the State concerned, and an officer from among the Heads of Central Police Organisations/Central paramilitary forces — would shortlist three officers and send their names to Tamil Nadu for immediate appointment of one of them as the DGP/Head of Police Force. Order of seniority In the order of seniority, DGPs Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, and Sandeep Rai Rathore top the list of 8 officers. All the three officers have had a stint in the Central government on deputation. DGPs Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh may not be considered as they have less than six months of service left. The list of eligible officers, which should have been sent three months before the vacancy was to come up (August 30, 2025), was expected to be dispatched this week, sources in the police headquarters said. Facing criticism The appointment of the new DGP assumes significance as Tamil Nadu heads to the Assembly election early next year. The Police Department is also facing severe criticism from various quarters for several instances of alleged custodial death or torture. The latest was the custodial death of B. Ajith Kumar in Sivaganga district. This case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. One of the criteria set by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its revised guidelines is that an officer, being considered for the top post, should be have served 10 years in Law and Order, the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, the Crime Against Women Cell, the Economic Offences Wing, the Cyber Crimes Cell, the Government Railway Police, Anti-Corruption/Vigilance, Intelligence/Special Branch, the Counter/Anti-Terror Unit, Security, and in Central agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the National Investigation Agency, on deputation.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- The Hindu
Now, FIR can be registered in any police station in Tamil Nadu even for crimes outside jurisdiction
With the Tamil Nadu Criminal Procedure Rules coming into effect, a police station can now register FIRs for cognisable offences committed outside its jurisdiction. Such FIRs must be transferred electronically and physically to the competent police station within 24 hours. The Tamil Nadu Criminal Procedure Rules, 2025, were notified by the Tamil Nadu Government to align the state's procedural framework with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) (New Criminal Procedure Code). Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) Shankar Jiwal told The Hindu, 'These rules institutionalise standardised practices across police stations and criminal courts, while simultaneously driving digital transformation in the way criminal procedures are administered. The rules are designed to ensure uniformity, transparency, efficiency, and greater accountability in criminal law enforcement and judicial coordination, procedural reforms, and readiness measures necessary for effective enforcement of these rules across the State.' 'Sufficient infrastructure arrangements to implement these provisions are at an advanced stage of rollout, and all the police personnel have been given training on the new provisions. One of the most significant features of these Rules is the integration of digital platforms and applications for almost every stage of the criminal procedure,' said Mr. Jiwal. It would pave the way for courts to serve summons through authenticated email, OTP-verified mobile numbers, or standard messaging platforms. Summons service is also digitally logged and tracked, and due service can be established through reply messages or automated links. The Rules institutionalise several important practices to ensure procedural fairness and judicial compliance. In every police station, a book called the Arrest Intimation Register—whether in physical form, in e-register, or both—in Form I shall be maintained for the purpose of making an entry of the fact as to who has been informed of the arrest of the person. The police officer making the arrest shall forthwith give the information of such arrest and the place where the arrested person is being held, whether by electronic communication or otherwise, to any of his relatives. As per the rules, the eSakshya Mobile Application—a mobile and web platform—is now mandated for recording audio-visual evidence, uploading photographs of crime scenes or witnesses, and generating immutable SID packets (secure, geo-tagged, time-stamped evidence with hash verification). This strengthens the chain of custody and evidence admissibility. The rules require the mandatory maintenance of several electronic or physical registers to capture key procedural events, incoluding: Arrest Intimation Register (Form I): Captures who was informed of the arrest and how, including in the case of foreign nationals. Summons Register (Form II): Maintains detailed records of summons issued, served, or pending, with monthly abstract reports. e-Information Register (Form V): Records electronic complaints, with provisions for confirming authenticity via in-person appearance within three days. Non-Cognizable Offence Report and Register (Forms VI–VIII): Structured tracking and reporting of non-cognizable complaints and forwarding to magistrates. Police Reports and Final Investigation Reports (Forms XI & XII): Clear formats and timelines are defined for filing charge sheets and supplementary reports, including information to be shared with informants and the courts via post or email. The rules institutionalise digital evidence management through unique SID ID packets with geo-tags and hash-based authenticity verification. The digital certificates are generated via the eSakshya app for court submission will be tamper-proof evidence. Mr. Jiwal said that for effective implementation, the Tamil Nadu Police has ensured testing of digital platforms such as CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Networking System)-II, eSakshya, and e-summons has been completed. Adequate hardware (tablets, body cameras, servers) and technical support at the police station level have been provided. Periodic training and capacity-building for all investigating officers, Station House Officers (SHOs), court staff, and prosecutors are underway. The Tamil Nadu government's notification of the TN Criminal Procedure Rules had earlier enabled greater access to the criminal justice system. Now, information regarding a criminal incident can be filed through email, the police website, or even through SMS to the concerned Station House Officer. 'With regard to non-cognisable cases, it is now mandatory on the part of the police to receive a complaint, register it, and forward the same to the court. An acknowledgment receipt is the right of the complainant. A new format has been introduced to submit documents in criminal courts,' said R. Karthikeyan, law lecturer.
The Hindu
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
TN yet to send proposal for appointing new Head of Police Force
In an unusual move, the Tamil Nadu government is yet to send the list of Director-General of Police rank officers to the Union Public Service Commission for finalising the panel to appoint the next DGP/Head of Police Force. Going by Supreme Court guidelines in the appointment of DGPs, the State Government should have sent the list of eligible officers to the UPSC three months before the incumbent DGP Shankar Jiwal's retirement (August 30, 2025). Once the list of eligible officers is sent, the UPSC would prepare a panel of three officers fit for appointment as Head of Police Force and send it back to the State for picking one to the top post. Tamil Nadu is among a few States that follow the apex court guidelines in the Prakash Singh case as regards appointment of DGPs/HoPF. It has been the practice since many years to send the list of IPS officers for UPSC empanelling and subsequent appointment. However, with just more than a month left for the present DGP to retire, there is no sign of the State initiating the process, police sources said. While there is an information that the State might amend the Tamil Nadu Police Act to enable appointment of an officer of its choice as DGP/HoPF, rumours are also agog that Mr. Shankar Jiwal may get an extension of three months with the approval of the Union Government. The Supreme Court in its earlier order had directed the States to ensure that DGPs were appointed through a merit-based transparent process with a minimum tenure of two years irrespective of the date of superannuation. However, after some States appointed DGPs at the last minute giving them the benefit of a full two-year tenure, the court directed that appointing a person as DGP just before his or her retirement should be avoided. The court also ruled against the concept of appointing an officer as 'acting DGP'. Despite specific guidelines, some States appointed 'in-charge' DGPs or DGPs with 'full additional charge' to bypass the requirement of seeking a panel from the UPSC. Qualifying officers In case the State Government sends a list of officers to the UPSC, the officers in the order of seniority who would qualify to be in the proposal are Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, Sandeep Rai Rathore, K. Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G. Venkatraman, Vinit Dev Wankhede and Sanjay Mathur who are all in the level-16 pay matrix. Though in service, DGPs Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh would not fit in the criteria of having a minimum of six months service left before retirement Though the police headquarters has written to the State Home Secretary that vacancy to the top post in the police force would arise on August 30, 2025, no decision has been taken yet on sending a proposal to the UPSC for finalising the panel. The UPSC's selection committee is headed by its Chairman and includes the Union Home Secretary, the concerned State's Chief Secretary and DGP, and one of the heads of the Central Armed Police Forces nominated by the MHA not belonging same State cadre as members, the sources said. Whether Tamil Nadu will deviate from the convention of complying with the Supreme Court guidelines in the appointment of DGPs and go ahead posting an officer of its choice to head the force remains to be seen.
