New Delhi, Feb 14 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday chaired a review meeting here on the implementation of three new criminal laws in Maharashtra and asked the state government to implement them in all the commissionerates as soon as possible.
The meeting, attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, reviewed the implementation and present status of various new provisions related to police, prisons, courts, prosecution, and forensics in the state, a Home Ministry statement said.
Stating that the government is committed to provide a speedy and transparent justice system to the countrymen, he said that to strengthen law and order, it is essential for crimes to be registered, so there should not be any delay in filing FIRs.
Shah said that Maharashtra should establish a model Directorate of Prosecution system in line with the new criminal laws. He emphasized that efforts should be made to achieve over 90 percent conviction rate in cases with sentences of more than 7 years, and that the police, government lawyers, and judiciary should work together to ensure that the guilty are punished as swiftly as possible.
The Home Minister reiterated that senior police officers should regularly monitor cases of organized crime, terrorism, and mob lynching to prevent the misuse of the sections related to these crimes. He noted that there should be a system for recording evidence through video conferencing in facilities such as prisons, government hospitals, banks, Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL), etc.
Shah stated that the police should provide information about individuals held in custody for interrogation on an electronic dashboard and stressed on need to improve internet connectivity in police stations.
He urged the Maharashtra government to integrate state’s fingerprint identification system with the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) and mentioned that the police should establish a system to return the property recovered from criminals to its rightful owner as per the provisions of the new criminal laws.
The Home Minister said that the Chief Minister should conduct a bi-weekly review of the implementation of the new criminal laws in the state, while the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police should carry out a weekly review.
The meeting was also attended by Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Maharashtra, Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), Director General of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and other senior officials.
