Police Station under Bengal Police Regulation

Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Officer-in charge of a police-station. .
Transfer of charge of police-station or outpost. .
Station house to be kept neat and clean. .
Occupation of inspection rooms and bungalows attached to police stations by gazetted touring officers of other departments. .
The station officer. .
Second and third officers. .
Duties of Assistant Sub-Inspectors. .
Duties of constables. .
Mufassil diary. .
Keeping of pony or bicycle. .
Verification rolls. .
Responsibility of the station officer for instructing subordinates and rural police. .
Institution of cases. .
Attendance at large hats and melas. .

214A. Pocket Books.

Deputation of constables to adjoining districts to learn bad characters. .
Deputation of Assistant Sub-Inspectors or constables to important railway or steamer stations.
Persons to be specially watched. .
Co-operation with Railway Police. .
Officers-in-charge of district police-station to be acquainted with certain regulations concerning Railway Police. § 12, Act V,. 1861.
Police officers in plain clothes to carry credentials. .
Station masters to receive messages to be telegraphed and to issue tickets for train journeys without prepayment of fare.
Overloading of ferryboats. .
Registration at presses.
Duties of police in respect of wandering or dangerous lunatics. .
Inspection of arms and ammunition shops by Sub-Inspector. .
Inspection, search for and seizure of stores for explosives. .
Wrecks. .
Treasure trove.
Archaeology.
Pillars of the Great Trigonometrical Survey.
Duties under the Cattle Trespass Act.
Registration of sales of cattle.
Reports of epidemic diseases.
Registration of births and deaths.
Police to assist touring officers.
Station boats. .
Instructions about arms and ammunition issued to police-station. .
Revolvers issued to police-station. .
Keys of the malkhana and lock-up. .
Custody of weapons deposited in the malkhana. .
Cash chests of the postal and other departments kept under the charge of station-house sentry.
Instructions for the issue of telegrams by station officers. .
Recording of information under section 154, Criminal Procedure Code. .
First information to be recorded in all but certain cases. .
Cognizable offence referred by Magistrate.
Despatch of First Information Report. .
List of stolen property to be obtained from the complainant. .
Heinous cases occurring outside jurisdiction. .
Information of an offence committed within and outside railway limits. .
Issue of hue-and-cry notices. .
Action to be taken on receipt of information regarding intestate property. .
Warning to owners and occupiers of land when a breach of the peace is apprehended. .
Forgery of currency notes. .
Cases in which first information not submitted. .
Responsibility of station officer. .
Investigating officer to consult connected registers before proceeding to investigate. .
Abstention from investigation. .
Investigation on the spot. .
Investigation outside jurisdiction. .
Harassment of the public to be avoided. .
Duration of investigation. ).
Complaints of ill-treatment against the police by arrested persons. .
Case diary. .
Instructions for writing case diary. .
Recording of statements under section 161, Criminal Procedure Code.
Dying declaration. .
Police may not decide question of lunacy. .
Investigation of non-cognizable cases. .
Binding down of witnesses. .
Number of witnesses to be sent up. .
Information from post or telegraph office records.
Chargesheets. .
Map or plan to accompany chargesheet in certain cases. .
Memo of evidence. §12, Act V of 1861.
Final report forms. .
Magisterial orders on final reports.

276A. Discharge report.

Revival of investigation. .
Communication of action taken to informant on completion of investigation.
Procedure in false cases. .
Searches. .
Searches by State Police in British India and Police in Indian British Indian States. .
Identification of suspects. § 12 Act V, 1861.
Verification to confession.
Procedure to be followed to secure transfer of confessing prisoner from one jail to another.
Interview with convicts in jails. .
Remission of sentence.
Proceedings under sections 107 and 145, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Proceedings under section 109, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Proceedings under section 110, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Evidence in Proceedings under section 110, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Investigation of cases of collision between inland steam-vessels and between inland steam-vessels and country boats. .
Investigation of cases in which British soldiers are concerned.
Expenses of witnesses and investigating officers incurred in the investigation of cases. .
Despatch of papers to the Examiner of Questioned Documents.
Utilization of Criminal Intelligence Bureau. .
Utilization of Photographic Bureau and intensification of finger prints. .
Requisition for expert opinion and despatch of exhibit to the Chemical Examiner and other experts.
Direct correspondence with the police of Orissa, Cooch Behar, Tripura and Jaipur States.
Inquiries into unnatural and suspicious deaths. First information to be submitted. .
Powers of Assistant Sub-Inspectors and Junior Sub-Inspectors under section 174(1), Criminal Procedure Code, and duties of constables left in charge.
Inquiries into unnatural or suspicious deaths by presidents or selected members of panchayats or by presidents or members of union boards and Forest Officers.
Death of European Officer or soldier.
Directions for investigation in cases of suspicious and unnatural deaths. .
Corpses sent for post-mortem examination. .
Duties of constable in charge. .
Post-mortem examination and report.
Presence of police officer at post-mortem examination. .
Expenses of forwarding corpses.
Carriage of dead bodies by railway to post-mortem centres without prepayment of fees.
Disposal of dead bodies.
Post-mortem and clinical examinations on animals. .
Medical Examination of wounded persons. .
Submission of finger prints of unidentified dead bodies for search. .
Photographing unidentified corpses. .
Service of warrants. .
Arrest without warrant. .
Unnecessary arrest to be avoided and bail to be allowed freely. .
Arrest of persons employed in public utility services.
Arrest of soldier. .
Arrest or surrender of Army deserter. .
Illness of person arrested. .
Property of arrested persons taken charge of by police. .
Action in cases of failure to arrest. .

323A. Register of persons arrested.

Accused to be forwarded to Magistrate and application for detention in police custody.
Pursuit, arrest and extradition of offenders in Indian States and Foreign Territory.
Procedure to be followed to procure the attendance of persons accused of non-extraditable offences who have taken refuge in an Indian State of the Eastern States Agency.
Accommodation and segregation of prisoners in lock-ups. .
Examination of prisoners before admission to lock-ups. .
Guards for lock-ups. .
Use of handcuffs. .
Guarding and escorting of persons arrested. .
Escort of prisoners to and from police posts. .
Bills for prisoners’ diet and travelling expenses and cost of conveyance of stolen property, etc., sent to the Court.
Memorandum of points for inspection of police-stations and out-posts.
Inspection of police-stations by Civil Surgeons.
Persons to be placed under surveillance. .
Superintendent to order surveillance. .
Removal or addition of names for surveillance. .
Surveillance over unconvicted persons. .
Surveillance by village headman, union board, Panchayat and watchmen. .
Duty of police in regard to surveillance. .
Rules for reporting movements of bad characters.
Bad Character Roll A. .
Bad character roll B.

344A. Bad character roll B. .

Surveillance of criminals belonging to gangs. .
Surveillance of juvenile offenders. .
Report of criminal charges against ex-reformatory school boys.
Surveillance over conditionally discharged or released persons and persons restrained under section 565, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Working of the rules made under section 565, Criminal Procedure Code. .
Surveillance of persons convicted under the Opium and Excise Acts.
Classes of gangs to be watched. .
Wandering gangs.
Foreign Asiatic vagrants. .
Action to be taken against bad characters and suspicious strangers under Sarais and Puraos Act (XXII of 1867).
Outposts.
Town patrols. .
Abstract of particulars in case of accidents in streets, etc., to be supplied to parties concerned on application. .
Officers to go the rounds. .
Officers going out on patrol to inspect the watch at post offices at night. .
Floating outposts and patrol launches. .
Station patrol boats. .
Status of the rural police.
General duties of dafadars and chaukidars.
Prompt reporting of crime to be insisted on.
Use of the telegraph by the rural police.
Payment of charges for telegrams sent by rural police.
Employment of rural police outside their beats.
Rural police not to be employed on menial duties. .
Method of holding chaukidari parades. .
Information to be obtained at chaukidari parades. .
Attendance of circle and excise officers at chaukidari parades.
Neglectful chaukidars to be reported for punishment.
Registers and Files.
General rules as to registers. .
Record of lands and buildings.
Registers of letters received and despatched.
The general diary. .
Register of absconded offenders and escaped convicts living or having connections in the station circle. .
Register of property stolen and of all property and articles taken charge of by the police. .
Khatian inspection register.
List of convicts and suspects of adjoining police-stations. .
Fine warrant register.
Enquiries to be made when executing fine warrant issued under the Railways Act, 1890. .
List of persons exempted or licensed under Arms Act.
List of conditionally released convicts. .
List approvers. .
Minute Book.
Gang record. .
Enquiry slips. .
Crime map. .
Village Crime Note-Book. .
Village Crime Note-Book, how to be bound. .
Crime Register, Part I. .
Conviction register, Part II .
Information of convicts made P.R. to be sent to station police. .
Despatch of conviction or other rolls. .
Action on receipt of P.R. slip. .
Elimination of names from conviction register. § 12, Act, V, 1861.
Special Criminal Intelligence Bureau elimination list. .
Village History, Part III. .
History sheets, Part IV. .
Instructions for writing up history sheet. .
History sheets of men placed under surveillance. .
Enquiry note-sheet, Part IVA. § 12, Act V. 1861.
Index, Part V. .
Responsibility of gazetted officers for Village Crime Note-Book. .
Periodical reports and returns.

408. Rep

Police-station cash account.
Procedure for the disposal of money realized by the police under order of Magistrate.

CHAPTER VI .
The Police – station.

I .  GENERAL DUTIES OF THE STAFF

Officer in charge of a Police station

201 . (a) The ter m “officer in charge of a police -station” as . defined in clause (p) secti on 4, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, distinctly excludes constables . A constable unavoidably left to perform the routine work of a police -station during the absence of the officer in charge or those next in rank, who are above the rank of constable, does not come withi n the meaning of “officer in charge of a police -station” .

If an officer in charge of a police -station is unable through illness to attend at the station, he shall make over charge to the officer next in rank, and report the fact in the general diary.

Transfer of charge of police – station or out post .

202 . (a) When an officer takes over per manent charge of a police -station or outpost . he shall report to the Superintendent the hour of taking over charge . He shall examine the Cr own property , cash and registers, also the articles in the malkhana and, if correct, will submit a certificate in the following form: –

I have carefully exami ned all the current registers and files, and satisfied myself of their correctness as far as lay in my power. The amount of cash in hand this day, Rs . _______ , has been recei ved by me in full, and is on the following accounts (here gi ve details) .

I have also received Crown property which I have checked with the authenticated list (here the relieving officer will make any remar ks he may wish to) . ” –

As regards the articles in the malkhana he shall certify that he has compared the register and received all the articles mentioned . If any discrepancy is found, he shall modif y the certificate accordingl y, and the officer making over charge will submit h is explanation .

In the case of temporary absence, as for instance when an officer in charge of a pol ice – station proceeds to headquarters to gi ve evidence, it will be sufficient if the two off icers concerned note in the general diary the fact of havin g made over and assumed charge .

Station house to be kept neat and clean

203 . (a) A police -stat ion should be a pattern of order and cleanli ness both inside and out . There should be a place for ever ything, and the officer in charge shall be held responsible that ever ything is in i ts place . The bedding in the constables’ barr acks shall be neatl y r olled up when not in use . No clothes shall be hung from the roof and no rubbish accumul ated under the charpoys . T he compound shall be kept tidy a nd free from j ungle by the constables, and hollows and depressions which hold water shall be filled up .

The officer in charge shall inspect the constables’ barrack every day, and shall see that the above rule is observed . He shall also see that the A ssistant Sub – Inspectors, head constables and constables under hi m mend any holes that may have been made in their mosquito nets and that they look after their clothing with due care . The result of such inspections shall be briefly noted in the general diary.

Occupation of inspection rooms and bungalows attached to policse sationsy gazeetted touring offiscers of other departments .

204 . All gazetted touring. officers of other depart ments, while travelling on bona fide duty, may be allowed to occupy the inspection r ooms and bungalows attached to police -stations whenever available, subect to the following conditions which must be strictly obser ved . The Inspector -General reserves the ri ght to withdraw the concession in toto or in respect of a ny particular officer, should circumstances require it at any time .

(i ) The building or room must at once be vacated if required by a police officer .

It is not to be used as an office for holdi ng investi gations or ot her purposes .

The room or rooms must be left in good and clean condition, for which purpose the officers must provide t heir own ser vants .

The officer requir ing the use of an inspection room must ascertain beforehand from the officer in charge of the police -station if it is a vailable or not and be guided accordingly.

The station officer.

205 . (a) Within the limits of his jurisdiction the officer in charge of a police -station is responsible for the effective working and management of the police subordinate to him, for the preser vation of peace, and for the prevention and detection of cri me . In order to check crime, his first ai m should be to obtain corr ect infor mation about criminals, cri minal classes, vagrants and wandering gangs resident in or passing thro ugh the police -station, and either to watch them effecti vely or to take such active measures against them as may be necessary or legal . The foremost means to this end are –

an intimate knowledge of the area commi tted to his charge and of its inhabitant s, and the enlistment of their sympathy and co -operati on;

the regular and early reporting of facts as to crime and cri mi nals, suspicious characters and strangers by chaukidars;

the active surveillance of registered criminals and suspects;

(iv ) the careful maint enance and study of t he sur veillance register and Village Crime Note – Book;

the efficient use of patrols;(vi ) prosecutions for bad livelihood; and generous co -oper ation with officers in charge of nei ghboring police -stations .

An officer in charge of a police -stati on shall neglect none of these means, and by constantly moving about within the li mits of his j urisdiction and by visits to respect able residents . shall assure hi mself that he recei ves regular and complete inform ation and i s in touch with the active cri minals . An officer who takes these precautions will have l ittle difficulty in tracing t he perpetrators of specific offences, but wi thout them his success in investi gation will be spasmodic and uncertai n .

Though he need not write up personally those regj sters which he is not required by rule or law or by special order of the Superintendent to write with his own hand, the Sub – Inspector in charge of a police -station is responsible and shall satisfy hi mself by fr equent inspection that all regi sters and records are properly maintained and kept up to date .

Officers in charge of police -stations shall collect and communicate intelligence on all matters of public i mportance passing in their j urisdictions, even tho ugh such matters may have no connection with any cri minal offence .

Second and thid officers .

206 . If a second or third Sub – Inspector is posted to a police -station, he can, subj ect to the general responsibility of the officer in charge, relieve the latter of those portions of his work and those investigations which may be made over to him.

Duties of Assistant Sub – Inspctors .

207 . (a) The object ,of posting an Assistant Sub – Inspector to a pol ice -station is to relieve the investigating Sub -. Inspector of all clerical and routine duties . To ensure this relief superior officers should make Assistant Sub – Inspectors definitely responsible for these duties arid punishable for omissi ons . The SubInspector s will of course exercise g eneral super vision but should not be held responsible unless there is gross neglect all r ound pointing to an entire absence of super vision .

Assistant Sub – Inspectors shall be responsible for all returns and registers except the First Infor mation Report , Case Diar y, General Di ary and Village Cri me Note -Book . The first three cannot by law by made over to them unless they happen at the ti me to be officers in charge . Ordinarily entries in t he Village Cri me Note -Book will be made by the investi gating off icer or the officer who acquires infor mation whi ch is required to be entered, but the senior Sub – Inspector will be responsible for its proper maintenance .

When the officer in charge and the junior Sub – Inspectors, if any, are absent or ill , the senior Assistant Sub – Inspector is competent under section 4 (P), Code of Crimi nal Procedure, to assume charge of the station and to exercise any of the functions of an officer in charge . Except in unavoidable emergencies, however, he will not be employed in investi gation . Even when the Sub – Inspector is absent, he shall, as a rule, on receipt of infor mation of a cognizable case, do no more than take such preliminar y steps ( e . g . , recording the first infor mation report, and arranging for the pursuit of thieves) as may be necessary. Then, if the Sub -Inspector is within the limits of the police station, the Assistarit Sub -Inspector shall send the complainant and the parties at once to hi m with a copy of the first information repor t . Onl y if the Sub -Inspector is ill or abs ent from his j urisdiction, shall the Assistant Sub – Inspector take up the investigation himself . .

When he can be spared from the station, he may and shall be fr eely deputed to pay night visits to surveilles, t o enquire into their mode of living, to re alize fines, to enquire into simple cases of unnatural death, to take command of patrols and parties of police detailed for guard, escort or si milar duty.

Duties of constables

208 . (a) Constables at police -stations may be employed in the execution of warrants, for escorts and guards, for the patrolling of dangerous roads or other areas where the prevention or detection of cri me necessitates it, for t he regulation of crowds and traffic, and, under orders of a superior, i n the suppressi on of r iots and disturbances . They are not intended to perform duties requiring the exercise of much judgment and discretion . They may be deputed to collect definite infor mation under the special orders – of the Sub -Inspector and to visit villages where the chaukidar has shown himself to be untrustworthy. In such cases, the nature of the infor mati on to be collected and the places to be visited shall be recorded on the command certificate . The command certificates issued in connection with patrols shall be filed separately for future; reference . A constable may also accompany a Sub -Inspector on investi gations to call witnesses and to effect arrests, and on visits to surveilles at all hours, when in the case of the absence of any registered person he may be sent to ascertain if he is at any particular place .

Constables may occasionally be employed on clerical duties of an unimportant nature . They shall not be per ma – nentl y employed on such duties and constables if required for this purpose shall be taken i n turn from the roster, perfor ming also patrol and other outdoor dut y in proper rotation . A parti – cular constable may be detailed to per for m the clerical duties of

an Assistant Sub – Inspector when the latt er is sick or absent outside the police -station j urisdiction -.

Mufassil diary

209 . (a) Whilst engaged in the interior on duty, whether in connection with investi gations or other matters, all offi cers of and above the rank of Assistant Sub -Inspector shall submit a mufassil diar y in B . P. For m No . 18 direct to the Circle Inspector, who shall peruse it personally and check delays and irregularities on the part of his subordinates .

The mufassil diary ~hall not overlap, or contain abstracts of, case diaries, but it shall indicate the time occupied ill investi gating a case and shall gi ve a reference to the case diary of the case . [See regul ation 197 . ]

Keeping of pony or bicycle .

210 . (a) Where a horse or pony can be used, Sub -Inspec – tors posted at police -stations shall keep a ser viceable animal , on which a fair day’s j ourney can be made . Where roads are suitable and local conditions favourable, a bicycle may be used i nstead of a pony. Stat ion officers shall not ordi narily use the railway for j ourneys on dut y.

For rules regarding travelling by bullock -cart, see regulation 59(b).

Verification rolls .

211 . (a) A verification roll received at a police -station in respect of a candidate for ser vice under the Crown shall be tested . by a local enquiry made by an officer not below the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspect or. (See regulation 750 . )

On receipt of veri fcation rolls the file of “discharge slips’. kept at police -stations shall also be exami ned and the result reported . ,

Responsibility of the station officer for instructing subordinates and rural police

212 . (a) Officers in charge of police -stations are responsible that ever y change or addition to the law which directly concerns the police, and ever y circular order, kn owldege of which is likel y to be useful to the officers under them, is read out and explained to head constables and constables repeat edly, . until thoroughly understood . The Assistant Sub -Inspectors and constables must also be fully Instructed ill t he nam es, characteristics and haunts of notorious that characters , and parculars and descriptive -rolls of all absconded offenders and other persons of whom the police are in search .

(b) Chaukidars shall be instructed as to the offences for which they can arres t, the art icles that are excisable, what quantities of these latter a person can legall y keep, the regard a person gi ving infor mation will get, and so on . They shall also be i nfor med of any particular individual, gang or pl ace which requires special watchi ng and shall be instructed in the best methods of sur veillance and shadowing.

Institution of cases .

213 .. Under section 24, Police Act , 1861, any police officer may lay any information bef ore a Magistrate and apply for a summons, warrant, search -warrant or such other legal process as may be law issue against any person commit ting an offence . Prosecutions for non -cogni zable offence, however, or f or an offence under section 353, Indian Penal Code, when the public servant assaulted is a police officer, shall not be instituted without the previous permission of the Superintendent or in emergent cases of the Circle Inspector, unless the obtaining of previous per mission will invol ve detri mental delay in instituting the case .

Attendance at large hats and melas .

214 . It is the duty of the officer -in -charge of a police station t o arrange that a suffi cient number of constables are deputed to the i mportant hats and fairs in his j urisdiction, where disorder is li kel y to ar i se, to keep order and to prevent, durnkenness and his misconduct, On Police Regulations Bengal 1943

the occasion of a large annual fair or mela, he should ascertain the number of people likel y to attend, and report beforehand to the Super intendent the arrangements which he proposes to make, aski ng.. f or an additional force, if necessary.

Pocket Book.

214A. All subordinate officers of and below the rank of Sub -Inspector and constables shall carry pocket books (in Bengal For m No . 4338) and pencils with them and shall note all facts of interest from the police point of view which come to their not ice in course of dut y. They shall show all interesting entries to the Offi cer -in -charge as . soon as they report back to the police -station . The Officer -in -charge shall issue suitable instructions . whenever necessary to guide the officers subordinate to hi m.

Deputation of constables to adjoining districts to learn bad characters .

215 . (a) In order to enable the police of one district to gain a personal knowledge of the bad characters of the bor dering stations of another district, the Superintendent shall depute a constable for a period of not more than six or less than three months from each of his border police -stations to the border police -station of the adj oining district, i n exchange for a . constable of that police -station .

Constables thus deputed shall be considered as attached to the district to which deputed for all purposes, except their pay and clothing, and shall be under the control of the officer in charge of the police -station to which they are deputed .

This order also applies to all police -stations which adj oin districts of Bihar, Orissa and Assam and the State of Cooch Behar, and interchange of constables with such districts should be made in the same man ner as with districts in the province .

The officer in charge of the police -station to which the constable is deputed, shall before the latter returns – to his own district, sign a certificate that he constable knows and can identify the bad characters under sur veillance in that police – station .

Deputation of Assistant Sub Inspectors or constables to important railway or steamer stations .

216 . Assistant Sub -Inspectors or constables may be, deputed from the sanctioned strengt h of police -station to i mportant railway or steamer stations situated within the j uris – diction . They may be deputed in uniform or plain cl othes according to the obj ect with which they are deputed and it is in either case essential that they should be well acqu ainted with the local suspects and sur veilles . Their powers of arr est are defined in sect ions 54 and 151, Code of Cri minal Procedure . If they are deputed pr imaril y with the obj ect of regulating traffic at steamer stations they should be in uniform and have power under section 31, Police Act, 1861, to control the flow of passengers, etc . When deputed to railway stations where members of the Rail way Police are already on dut y they should ordinarily be in plain clothes, should not int erfere with the – regulation of traffic which is the duty of the Rail way Police . and if in plain clothes should when possible effect any arrest that is necessary through one of the uni for med railway police officers .

Officers deputed for steamer or railway stat ion dut y should carr y a note -book in which to record facts of interest from a police point of view which come to their notice and should show the entries to the officer in charge of the police -station as soon as they come off duty. When on dut y in plai n clothes . they shoul d tak e no notice of superior officers unless the latter specifically address them. When deputed to railway stations they shall be provided with a special platfor m pass which will

entitle them (i ) to admission to the platform, (ii) to send a telegram regarding the departure of any known suspect or cri – minal, and (iii) in cases of emergency to obtain from the station -master a ticket for a j ourney over the railway without , prepayment . On the completion of dut y at the station the , platfor m pass should be handed over to the relief, or if there is no relief, to the officer in charge of t he police -station . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

In December each year the Superintendent shall infor m the Traffic Manager of the number of platform passes required during the following year. On receipt of t he passes from the railway authorities, the Superi ntendent shall counter sign each one before i ssue to the police -station .

Persons to be specially watched.

217 . Assistant Sub – Inspectors and constabl e deputed to railway or steamer station s should .

be instructed to keep a special lookout for any of the following: -.

(i ) The arrival of bands of youths or suspected gangs of cri minals by ghasi or other boats, steamer and train .

(ii ) Youths and other respectable persons carrying their own b aggage instead of employing coolies . (iii ) Luggage of extraordinary wei ght and length . Wounded persons . Persons who appear to . be taking precaut ions to conceal their presence or identity.

(vi ) Opium smugglers, Muzaffarpur Sonars, Bhamptas, Barw ars, suspected poisoners and other professional crimi nals .

Co – operation with Railway Police .

218 . Police deputed to steamer stations which are j unctions with t he railway shall assist and wor k in co -operation with the Railway police . The senior officer so deputed shall report hi mself dail y to the officer in charge of the railway police station, where there is one, and take such instructions as that officer wishes to gi ve . The officer in charge of the rai lway police -station should kn ow where he can find at least one . member of the ghat police .

Officers in charge of district police station to be acquainted with certain regulations concerning Railway Police .

219 . Officers in charge of district police -st ations must be acquai nted with regulations 573 -578 and 580 -584 in Chapter VIII.

Police officers in plain clothes to carry credentials

220 . When officers in unifor m or plain clot hes are deputed to rai lway station platfor ms on occasions when platfor ms are to be kept cl ear, they shall either be provided with a letter from a gazetted police officer to the local senior railway police officer, or the Superintendent of Rai lway Police shall be infor med beforehand of their deputation . This, however, shall not do away with the necessity of detective warrants being carried by t hose who have been provided . with them.

While such officer shall obey the orders of the senior railway Police officer present, ever y facility shall be gi ven them by the Rail way Police to perfor m the specific dut y for which they are dep uted . They shall be allowed to take up a position most advantageous for their purpose and due regar d shall be gi ven to their suggestions .

Station masters to receive messages to be telegraphed and to issue tickets for train journeys without prepayment of fare

221 . (a) Station mast ers shall, at the request of any police officer. in unifor m or in plain clothes, on production of his detective warrant or platfor m pass or any other proof of his bemg a pohce officer –

(i ) recei ve any message to be telegraphed on requisition in B . P. For m No . 20;

issue a ticket for journey by train on requisition in B . P. For m No . 21 without prepayment of fare .

When the destination of a suspect is unknown or v;he n sufficient time is not available to obtain a ticket to enable a police officer to start by the particular train in which the suspect travels, he will be allowed to travel without a ticket on the line on his gi ving inti mati on to the guard of the tram or s ome other responsible railway official present at the station and on Police Regulations Bengal 1943

arrival at his destination he shall report hi mself to the station master and fill in B . P. For m No . 22 . The station master shall send the out er foils of these for ms to the Superintendent f or early payment of the charges . No excess fare shall be charged for j ourneys perf or med without a ticket under this regulation . Wher e the police officer is able to write English, the requisition form and t he telegrams shall be written and si gned by hi m in full with his official designation, police -st ation and district . If he is unable to write English, the station master shall fill up the forms and the telegrams at the request of the police officer who shall affix his left thumb mar k on them. The nature of the emergent dut y for which a train ticket is required . or for whi ch a j ourney by train was made without a ticket (unless the police officer has orders to keep it secret) must be clearly stated .

Superintendents shall send to the Chief Auditor or Chie f Examiner of Accounts of the Railway concerned for verifi – cation a monthly return of all j ourneys made by police officers without a ticket under this sub -clause, in B . P. For m No . 23 .

For ms Nos . 20 -22 shall be supplied to the railway stations by t he Police Depart ment and station masters shall apply to the Superintendent concerned whenever their stock runs short .

Note . – It must be clearly understood that the District Police must not use platfor m passes to despatch telegrams or obtain tickets, when th ere is time to obtain money or a railway warr ant from the police -station .

Overloading of ferry boats

222 . In the neighbour hood of much frequented ferries, officers in charge of police stations shall exercise constant to prevent the overl oading to boats . When habitual overloading is observed it is their dut y to report to the District Magistrate .

Registration at Presses .

223 . In places outside the li mits of the town of Calcutta it is the dut y of the police, acting under the orders of the District Magistrate, to ascertain whether printing presses are registered, and to insist upon a due observance of the provisions of the law (vide sections 4 and 5, Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867) .

Duties of police in respect of wandering or dangerous lunatics .

224 . (a) police officers shall secure and send into the head . quarters station of their districts all lunatics found wandering at large and believed . to be dangerous . They shall not interfere with har mless lunat ics or with dangerous lunatics of whom proper care is taken .

When a lunatic is sent up, a report in Bengal For m No . 216 shall accompany him .

Police officers shall report to the Magistrate all cases in which lunatics, who have been made over to their friends for care and treatment, are neglected or cruelly treated .

Inspection of arms and am munition shops by sub Inspector.

225 . Every Sub – Inspector in charge of a police -station shall ispect all arms and ammun i tion shops within his local jurisdiction not less than once a quarter.

Inspection, search for and seizure of stores for explosives .

226 . (a) Under rule 106 of the Explosi ve Rules, 1940, any Inspect on, police officer of and above the rank of Sub -Inspector of the Bengal Police may, within his j urisdiction in connection with licenses issued under the Explosive Rules, 1940 – (i ) enter, inspect and examine any place, carr iage or

vessel in which an explosive is being manufactured, poss essed, sol d, transported or i mported under a license grant ed under the Explosi ves Rules, 1940, or in which he has reason to believe that an explosive has been or is bei ng manufactured, possessed, sold, transported or Police Regulations Bengal 1943

imported in contravention of the’lndian Explosives Act, 1884 ( IV of 1884) or of the above rules;

search for explosi ve therein;

take sampels of any explosi ves found therein, on payment of the value thereof, if payment can be made at the ti me the samples are taken; and

(i v) sei ze, detain, remove and, if necessar y, destroy otherwise render har mless any expl osive fo therein in respect of which he has reason to believe that any of the provisions of the said rules or Act have been contravened .

Whenever any police officer sei zes, d etai ns or rem any explosi ve under this rule, he shall report the fact to Distr ict Magistrate .

No police officer shall under this rul e, destroy o r other wise render har mless any explosive without the previous sanction of t he District Magistrate, unless the matter appears urgent and fraught wit h serious public danger.

Whenever any officer destroys any explosive or other –

wise renders it harml ess, he shall take and keep a sample there – of, and shall, if required, gi ve a portion of the sample to the person owning the explosi ve or having the same un . der his control at the ti me of seizure, and whenever any officer so deals with any explosi ve, he shall report the circumstances to the District Magistrate .

Under rue 102 of the Explosi ves Rules, 1940 , ever y person holding a license or acting under a license granted under the rules, shall be bound to produce the same, or an authenticated copy kept at the magazine or place to which the license applies or a pass i ssued by a holder of a license in For m H of t he said rules in respect of a consi gnment of explosives when call ed upon to do so by any police officer not below the rank of Sub – Inspector. Copies of any such license may f or the purpose of this rule, be authenticated free of charge by the authori ty which granted the license .

Police officers wi ll carefully obser ve t hat, should any officer below the rank of Sub . Inspector find it necessary to take action under sub -clauses (i ), (ii ), (iii ) or (i v) to clause (a) above . he should either obtain a warrant under the Act or request a Sub – Inspector or any other superior police officer to accompany hi m.

Note . -All police officers of rank not below that of Sub -lnspector in the Burdwan district have been empowered within the areas over which their autho rity extends to enter, inspect, etc . , the premises licensed in For ms . J and L also .

Wrecks . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

227 . (a) The police shall report all wrecks to the Magistrate except those occurring within the j urisdicntion of the Commissioners for the P orts of Calcutta and Chittagong, and . pending the receipt of his orders, take measures to protect the wrecked propert y. Those recovered within the Port Commis – sioners’ j urisdictions shall be reported to the Deputy Conser – vator, Ports of Calcutta and Chit tagong, and protected unt il . orders for disposal are received or, made over at once to the nearest Post Commissioners‘ stations . For this pur pose the officers in charge of the police stations concerned shall mai ntain a map showing the j urisdictions of the Ports of Calcutta and Chi ttagong .

Note . -” Wreck” as def ined in section 272 of the India Merchant Shipping Act, 1923, consist of the following when found in the sea or any tidal water or on the shores thereof: –

(i ) goods which have been cast into the s ea and then sink and remain under water ; goods wbich have been cast or fall into t he sea and remain floating on the surface;

goods which are sunk in the sea but ar e attached to a floating obj ect in order that they may be found again ; Police Regulations Bengal 1943

goods which are t hrown away or abandoned ; and a ship abandoned without hope or intent ion of recover y.

All officers in charge of police -stations shall suppl y as earl y as possible the District

Magistrate concerned as well as the Deput y Conser vato r, Ports of Calcutta and Chittagong, as the case may be, with an authenticated copy of ever y report . of a casualt y to an inland steam -vessel made to any of them under the provisions of section 32 of the Inland St eam – Vessels Act, 1917 .

If the propert y saved from a wreck is “salved propert y,” the police shall not take the property out of the possession of the sal vers, but shall ascertain fr om them the nature of the

property and report the matter for the orders of the Magistrate or t he Deput y Conser vato r, as the case may be .

“Sal vage” means the compensation all owed to persons by whose assistance a shi p or boat, or. the cargo of a ship, or of the persons on board are saved f rom danger or

loss in the cases of ship wrecks, abandonment of vessel, or the like . It is necessary, therefore, that life or propert y shall be i n peril, and that ski ll or enterprise shall be displayed, or risk -encountered, on the part of the salvers before any clai m to . sal vage can be established .

Where these condition s exist there is no difference between river and sea salvage . Example . – A steamer or boat is wrecked in a r iver, and the cargo is floating about within easy distance of land . No skill is required or danger encoun – tered in bringing it ashore . This is not “salvaged property. ” In such a case it would be the dut y of the police to render all possible assistance, and if the owners are present, to . make it over to them. In the event of

the owners being unknown, the police shall take possession: ‘ of it . as such pro pert y bel ongs to the Crown or to the Port Commissioners . In either case, they shall report the fact for the infor mation or orders of the Magistrate or Deputy Conser vator .

A villager who carried off such propert y and made no attempt to find out the own ers would be guilty of cri mi nal . misappropriation under section 403, Indian Penal Code . In all cases of wrecks, the chaukidar, shall gi ve i mmediate notice to the police -station .

Ten per cent . may be awarded to persons who, at considerable risk to them sel ves, recover wrecked propert y duri ng floods or in cases of wreck.

With these excepti ons, movable propert y found by any pri vate person and not clai med is the property of the innocent finder.

(i ) Under section 273 of the Indian Merchant Shipping Ac t, . 1923, the following officers and authorities have been appointed Recei vers of wrecks : . – The Commissioners for the Port of Calcutta .

The District Magistrate of the 24 -Parganas .The District Magistrate of Midnapore .The District Magistrate of Khulna .The District Magistrate of Bakarganj .

The District Magistrate of Noakhali .The Commissioners for the Port of Chittagong.The District Magistrate of Chittagong .

Their respective j urisdictions are indicated in Government of India, Commerce Depart ment, Notification No . 85 M . I. (6) -34 . dated the 8th June 1935 .

Note: -In the Canals di visions which are under the Depart ment of communications and Works {Irri gation), the Executive Engineers and their Subdi visional Officers concerned have contror over the disposal of wrecks .

Treasuretrove .

228 . (a) The finding of statuar y, coins, and other treasure bur ied under ground shall be reported, through the Superintendent to the Collector . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The law regarding treasure trove, i . e . , anything of value hidden in the soil . or in anything affixed thereto, is contained in – the; Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878 . Whenever treasure exceeding in value Rs . 10 is found, the finder shall gi ve notice to the Collector in writing; and if the Collector, after due enquir y, declares the tre asure owner less, he will distribute the sum to the finder and t he owner of the place in which it was found, or gi ve it to the finder, or acquire it on behalf of Government under the provisions of the Act .

A rc h a e o l o g y.

229 . Officers in charge of police -stations shall report to the Superintendent the discover y of any obj ect of archaeological interest, and t he Superintendent will report the same direct to the Superintendent, Depart met of Archaeology, Eastern Circle, calcutta, under inti mation to the Director-General, Archaeology in India, New Delhi . A copy of the report shall also be sent to the Works and Building5 Depar tment, Government of West Bengal , Writers’ Buildings, Calcutta, t hrough the Police Di rectorate and a copy endorsed to the District Magistrate, for infor mation .

Pillarsl of the Great Trigonometrical Survey.

230 . (a) Inspections of the Great Trigonometrical Sur vey pillars shall be made by police officers not below the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspector, and officers in charge of police stations shall undertake a fair share of such wor k. Chaukidars shall be instructed to report at once any damage that may occur to pillars situated in their beats .

Any instance of damage or inj ury shall be reported at once to t he District Magistrate, and a report shall be sent to the Superintendent annually as soon as possible after lst January in for m mentioned in regulation 1110 .

Note . – In areas where t here are union boards these duties have been transferred to them and to the circle officer.

Duties under the Cattle Tres Pass Act .

231 . (a) Where no other authority has been appointed under section 32 of the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871 (1 of 1871 as amended by Bengal Act V of 1934), it is the dut y of the police to take the acti on laid down in section 14 of t hat Act . The officer in charge shall not, however, sell any ani mal sent from a pound unless it is accompanied by a chalan in Pound For m J . When ani mals are sold, the officer in charge shall make the necessary entries in Pound For ms C, G and I ( Bengal For m s Nos . 211, 212 and 213 respectivel y) .

The police have no authority to inspect cattle pounds . , but the senior station officer shall report to the Circle or Town Inspector any irr egularities or abuses i n their management which mav come to his notice .

Registration of sales of cattle .

232 . In the districts of the Chittagong, Dacca and Raj shahi Di visions owners and lessees of mar kets or fairs should be induced to regist er all sales of cattle and ponies . Books in Bengal For m No . 91 containing foils and c ounterfoils will be issued by the District Magistrate free of cost to such owners and lessees . The foil should be torn off and gi ven to the purchaser, the counterfoil being retai ned by the cler k or gomastha in charge of the hat . The possession of such a foil will afford an innocent purchaser protection against the suspicion of having unlawfull y come by the animal he has bought . As a further protection, panchayat s or presidents of union boards should also be directed to gi ve, on application, certificates of ownership in Bengal For m No . 92 to intending vendors residing wit hin their j urisdiction . This certificate should, when the sale has been registered, be made over to the person in charge of the register and attached by hi m to the counterfoil . All station off icers shall make ever y effort to induce the people to confor m to t hese rules, as they wi ll be of great assistance in Police Regulations Bengal 1943

cattle theft cases if generally known and f ollowed . Care shall be taken that the gi ving of certificates and foils i s not made the means of extorting money from vendors and purchasers . Panchayats or presidents of union boards shall under no circumstances levy a fee for granting certificate .

Reports of epidemic diseases .

233 . In case of an outbreak of cholera, small -pox, bubonic plague or sus picious cases of plague or other epidemic disease, in areas where the Chaukidar i Act is in operation, the officer in charge of a police station shall report the outbreak i mmediately to the District Magistrate . the Chairman of the local board and the Distri ct Health Officer (or the Civil Surgeon in districts where no District Health Officer has been appointed) and sha . ll undertake the distribution of cholera medicines . No payment for these medicines is t o be taken . Whi . le the epidemic or outbreak lasts, dail y reports shall be submitted in B . p . For m No . 24 . All outbreaks, number of cases and deaths should be not ed in the general dair y for entry in the Inspector ‘s daily report for the infor mation of the Magistrate . In column 11 of the first report submitted, t he population and name of each village affected shou . ld be,noted . Note, – In areas where union boards have been established’, such reports a,re submitted not by station officers but by presidents of union boards,

Registration on of births and deaths

234 . (a) The police may be called upon to perform, except within railway li mits, the dut y of collecting, registering and transmitting vital statistics in rural areas other than those ( I) completel y covered by u:nion boards or (ii ) covered entirel y by chauki dari unions or partly by chaukidari unions and partl y by union boards where all the presi dents are willing to under take the wor k without remuneration .

A register of births (B . P. For m No . 25) and a,register of deaths (B . P; For m No . 26) shall be maintained at the police – stations concerned .

All police register s of births and deaths shall be open to inspection by the Director of Public Health, Assistant Directors of Publ ic Health, District Health Officers, Municipal Health Officers, Ci vi l Surgeons, District Magistrates, Sub – divisional Officers, Circle Officers, Superintendents and Assistant and Deput y Superintendents, Assistant Health Officers, Sanitary Inspectors, Assistant Superintendent of Vaccination and Inspectors and Sub -Inspectors of Vaccinat ion . Defects discovered in the local registration of vital statistics shall be reported direct to Superintendents f or necessar y action .

On return from town and mufassl duty, constable shall report at the police -station any birth or death which has, . come to their knowledge . If the person . responsible under sect ions 7 and 8 of the Bengal Births and Deaths Registration, Act, 1873 (Bengal Act IV of 1873), for reporting the birth or death has neglected to report, the officer in charge of the police -st ation shall ordinarily recommend his prosecution t o the District Health Officer ..

A return of births and deaths reported during the preceding month shall be forwarded monthl y by the officer in charge of a pol ice station to the Subdivisional Magistrat e for transmission to the Di strict Health Officer i n Bengal For m No . 2996A .

(j ) On the back of t he monthl y return a statement shall be gi ven showing the names of villages affected by cholera, plague or small -pox and the number of deaths from each of these diseases in each village and the number of dead bodies, bel ong.. ing to other areas but disposed of at the local burning ghats or buri al grounds during the month .

The officer in charge of a police -station sha1l ascertain and estimate annuall y the l oc al requirements of vital statistics forms and registers and report them to the Subdi vi sional Magistrate for transmi ssion to the District Health Officer who will distribute them on receipt from the For ms Depart ment .

The duties of the police under the Bengal Vaccination: Acts, 1880 and 1911 (Bengal Act V of 1880, amended by Bengal Act II of 1911), are li mited to the ser vice of a notice in the Police Regulations Bengal 1943

for m prescribed in schedule E of the Act and to the; transmission of a copy of the notice to the District Health Officer.

(i ) The police shall charge a fee for suppl ying copies of entries in the registers of births and deaths at the rate of f our, annas for each extract . This fee shall be credited to the treasury as

police receipt under the head “XXIII -Poli ce -Fees, fines and for feitures” and the officer in charge of the police .. station shall certify that the copies gi ven are true copies .(j ) No fee shall be charged for suppl ying such extracts to a District Soldiers Board .

Police to assist touring officers .

235 . On receipt of requisition from an officer on tour or any ot her traveller for supplying vehicles or other articles to enable him to prosecute his j ourney, the police -station officer shall do his best to meet the demand, and may also adj ust the rate of hi re to be paid for the vehicle required or t he price of any articles provided . The amount paid shall be dul y receipted! and entered in the general diar y and the station cash account” A duplicate copy of the bill shall be kept filed with the receipts taken f rom the actual sellers of the supplies or drivers of the vehicles supplied .

(See also section 8 of Bengal Regulation X I of 1806 . )

Station boats .

236 . Certain police -stations are provided with boats for the use of officers employe d in investi gation and other station duties, whi ch shall be hired wit h their crews for the time specifled in the district allot ments . Superintendents shall see that both boats and crews are efficient .

Instructions about arms and ammunition issued to police – station .

237 . (a) Muskets shall be issued to police -stations and other police posts up to the sanctioned scale . Ammunition shall be issued for these muskets at t he following scale: – Ball -20 rounds per weapon .

Buckshot -l0 rounds per police post, vi z. , thana, station boat, floating outpost, patrcl launch, etc .

All ar ms and ammunition shall be entered, when recei ved, in the list of Crown property maintained in the poli ce -station, the entr y being si gned by the off icer in charge who will be personally responsible for the safe custody and maintenance of the ar ms and ammunition, and for seeing that they ar e not misused .

At each police -st ation to which ar ms have been issued . , there should be at least . 3 “trained men”, i . e . , those who have done their musketry course within two years . These men: should not all be absent from the station at one ti me .

Ar ms shall be kept in the malkhana in str ong wooden racks of a standard pattern provi ded with locking arrangement: and secured b y a padlock, and ammunition in a locked box which shall be kept well raised off the ground in the malkhana . The keys shall remain with the officer in charge who shall be, responsible for the distribution and return of the ar ms and . ammunition . When leaving the police -station temporarily i . e . , when going to the mufassi l or on other si milar duties, the officer in charge shall note in the general diary the number of ar ms and the quantity of ammunition in stock, and the officer who remains in charge shall satisfy hi mself by per sonal examination of the presence of the ar ms and ammunition, and acknowledge their receipt in the general diary. The keys of the rack of ar ms and of the ammunition boxes shall also be made over to the relieving officer and dul y noted and acknowledge in the general diary.

At town outposts and platform posts to which ar ms have been supplied, the ar ms rack shall be attached to the building; and provided with a lock. The keys of the ar ms rack and of the ammunition box shall be kept by the off icer on dut y .

At mufassil police -stations to which ar ms have been supplied, a constable shou1d be on duty at . the station premises during the day and one should sleep agaist the door of the Police Regulations Bengal 1943

malkhana at ni ght . The Superitendent, the Circle Inspector o r t he officer in charge of the police -station may or der an ar med sentr y carrying 5 rounds of buckshot ammunition t o be, mounted at ni ght if local conditions necessi tate such action . The sentry shall be relieved at regular inter vals under the; super vision o f a Sub -Inspector or an Assistant Sub -Inspector.

At town police -stations a regular sentr y shall always be on duty in unifor m and shal l be relieved ever y two hours . The .. officer in charge of the station shall assemble the men present at the station ever y morning and evening and tell off the constables in the order of their wach for the ensuing day or ni ght and enter the orders in the general diar y. An Assi stant

Sub – Inspector or a senior constable shall be placed in charge of the watch, and he shal l se e that the sentries are relieved at the: proper ti me during the ni ght . He shall always sleep cl ose to the sentr y so that his assistance can be obtained, if necessar y, without the sentr y leaving his post . He shall rouse the officer in charge of the station at any hour when he is required for public ser vice .

Ever y morning the arms, etc . , shall be cleaned, oiled and r ubbed over and shall be inspected by the officer in charge’ and a note made in the general diary about their condition . For this purpose the police -stations will be supplied with oil, lubricating, G. S . as well as oil bottles for use when t he a:r ms are taken out .

The quantity of arms and ammunition sanctioned for each poli ce -station or post shal l be always maintained at the maxi mum, that is to say, ar ms or ammunition recalled to headquarters shall first be replaced by a new issue . Empt y cases of ammunition expended shal1 also be sent to the Ar med Inspector, who shal1 recoup the amount expended wit hout delay. The Ar med Irl spector shall be r esponsible for: seeing t hat ar ms are recalled to headquarters once each half year and fresh ar ms supplied from the magazine . On the commencement of the annual musketr y course, the unexpended ammunition in police -station stocks shall be brought in and fired , fresh supplies being sent previ ously.

(i ) The ar ms and ammunition kept in poli ce -stations are intended for the suppression of seuous riots li kel y to be attended with loss of life, or for cases in which the officer in charge of the police -station has rea son to believe that the person to be proceeded against may be ar med with deadl y weapons . On such an occasion arising, the off icer in charge of a police – station shall issue such number of ar ms as may be necessar y with 20 rounds of ball ammunition per ar m. I f more than one constable is taken out , the senior of the tr ained constable shall take charge of the ar med par ty and act as’ ‘squad commander under the orders of the Sub – Inspector or Assistan Sub – Inspect or or head constable .

Attention of all police -station officers is drawn to regulations 145 -157 in which further details as to the use of firearms in riots and disturbances are given ..

Revolvers issued to police station

238 . (a) Revol vers may be supplied at the discretion of the Su perintendent to specially selected police -stations where the police employed have to deal fr equently -with danger ous criminals and their personal safety is in danger. Before the issue of the weapons the Superintendent shall satisfy hi mself that one of the Sub -Inspect ors at the selected police – stations’ is qualified in revol ver shooting.

The officer in charge shall be personally resfonsible for the safe custody, care and cleaning of the revol vers allotted to his police -station .

The officer in charge shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of the revol ver (s) and ammunition supplied and the shall be entered in the list of Crown property maintained at the police -station .

The revol ver(s) and ammunition when not in use shall be kept locked up in a strong box within the malkhana chest and examined, cl eaned, and oiled ever y Sunday and the fact noted in the general diar y.

The instructions contained in regulation 237 shall apply, mut atis mutandis, to revolvers and ammunition supplied to police -stations .

The revol vers supplied to police -stations may also be used, when necessar y, by Circle Inspectors who have been trained in their use and who have not got weapaons of their own . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The Superintendent shall periodically examine the necessity o f keeping revol vers at police -stations to whi ch they: have been supplied and as soon as he finds that the necessity has ceased to exsit, he shall withdraw the weapons .

Keys of the malkhana and lock up.

239 . A strong box should be provided in each malkhana for cash, ornaments, small ar ms, ammunition, document s, etc . The malkhana doors and the strong box’ shall be provided with good locks, preferabl y of the tumbler t ype, the keys of which cannot be locally made . The Officer -in -charge of t he police -station shall remain in -charge of t he malkhana . The keys of the malkhana and of t he strong box shall be numbered and kept with the said officer, who shall be responsible for all the articles in the malkhana and the . str ong box . Onl y; the ke y of the malkhana may be kept . if occasion demands it, with any other specified officer not below the rank of Assistant Sub -Inspector at the discretion of the Officer -in . charge . The cont ents of the malkhana shall be checked when the key thereof changes ha nds due to exi genci es of duty. The key of the strong box shall, however, remain with the officer – in -charge under all circumstances . A duplicate key of eachr lock should be in the custody of the Superintendent of Police and the number shall be noted in a r egister. The key of tlie Iock . up shall remain with the sentr y on dut y. No private propert y of officers shall be kept in the malkhana .

Note . -Ordinaril y keys of malkhana s hall not be left with a constable unless he is left in charge of a police -station in the absence of Sub -Inspectors and Aesistant Sub – Inspectors . When such a contingency arises, the cons – table opening the “malkhann shall do i t in presence of the sentr y and the fact noted in the General Diar y.

Custody of weapons deposited in the malkhana .

240 . THe rules for the custody of weapons deposited at police -stations will be found in Appendix X IV.

Cash chests of the postal and other departments Kept under the charge of station house sentry.

241 . (a) ‘post masters may place in po lice -stat ions an iron safe to be kept under the charge of the station -house sent ry. All cash chests placed in police station shall be embeded in the ground or wall and be secured by chains to the charge of a log or post or in some other safe menthod ( vide r ule 120 of the Posts and Telegraphs Manual, Volume V III) . The key shall remain with the Post master, who alone shall have access to the safe . The police have not hing to do with the contents of the box, and the amount of money it contains shall not be brough t on to the station books .

On the same condi tions Sub -Registrars and Ci vil courts, except those at headquarter s of district and subdi visi ons, and mufassil Khasmahal Tahsil offices and other Government depart ments requiring regular and frequent deposit of money in the police -stations may place their iron safes to be kept under the charge of the station -house sentry.

Government departments which are required to deposit money at the police -stations occasionally should deposit cash money in the polic e -stations which will find entr y in the General Diar y of the police -station .

Escort of postal money.

Notice, of escorts passing between stations and head quarters, either sub di visional or Sadar, shall be gi ven t o post masters, who, when they have exce ss f unds which they desir e to remit, shall send them under charge of the next available escort . The post master shall supply carriage and pay all charges, the police simpl y affording the cash the protection of the escort . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Instructions for the issue of telegrams by station officers .

242 . (a) For the purpose of disseminating intelligence to nei ghbouring stations and to enable supervising officers to arrive with the greatest rapidity at the scene of occurrence, telegr ams should, when nec essar y, be sent and ser vice stamps used in payment of such telegrams . For this purpose, the officers in charge of police -stations shall be supplied with ser vice stamps of different denominations according to the’ cri mi nality of the j urisdiction . The stock of stamps shall on no account be allowed to become exhausted and shall be replenished when necessary by submitti ng a requisition to the Superintendent . All telegrams shall be enter ed in the register of letters issued (Bengal For m No . 19) and the value of s tamps’ used shoul d be noted in . the appropr aite column . To distinguish such expenditure from that for ordinary postage the letter “T” shall be entered in the remar ks column .

All telegrams shall be written with carbon paper and a file of the duplicate copies of the telegrams despatched sha;ll be kept at each police -station, and inspecting officers shall examine them to see t hat telegrams have been sent with circumspection and that they have been succinctl y worded .

Books of telegram forms shall be supplied to police – stations by the Superintendent .

Should circustances require the i mmediate intimation of infor mation, officers should use special police telegrams in accordance with regulation 184 .

On receipt of infor mation of the arrival or movement in his j urisdiction of suspicious characters, especially foreig ners, about whom there is reason to believe that they are likel y; to commit dacoit y gang ropber y, professional druggi ng or other serious cri me, the officer in charge of a police -station, in addition to any other action he may decide to take, shall unless the police -station is situated at the headquarters of the officer addressed, i mmediately send telegrams to the superin – tendent and the Circle Inspector ( who shall be responsible for communicating the inf or mation recei ved to t he Subdi visional Police Officer. if there is one), and shall also warn by telegram such places in the list drawn up under. regulation 250(c) as

may be selected at his discretion, gi ving such descripti ve particular s of the suspects as may be possible with a view to action being taken by the recei ver of t he message under sections 54, 55 and 151, Code of Cri minal Procedure . The places to which warning has been sent shall be mentioned in the messages to the Superinten dent and the Circle Inspector. Officers in charge of police -stations shall also consider in such cases’ whether telegraphic infor mation should not be sent to dafadar s of unions surroundi ng the place in which the criminals are alleged t o be present .

II . - INFORMATION .

Recordingl of information under section 154, Criminal Procedure Code .

243 . (a) The first information of cognizable crime mentioned in section 154, Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall be drawn up by the officer in charge of the police -station in B . P. For m N’o . 27 in accor dance with the instructions printed with it .

The first informati on report shall be written by the officer taking the infor mation in his own handwriting and shall be signed and seal ed by him.

The information of the commission of a cognizable crime that shall first reach the police, whether oral or written, shall be treated as the first information . It may be given by a person acquainted with the facts directly or on hearsay, but in either case it co nstitutes the first infor mation required by law, upon which the enquiry under section 157, Code of Criminal Procedure, shall be taken up . When hearsay information of a crime is given, the station officer shall not wait to record, as the first information the statement of the actual complainant or an eye -witness .

A vague rumour shall be distinguished from a hearsay report . It shall not be reduced to writing or signed by the informant, but entered in the general diary, and should it , on subsequent information prove well -founded, such subsequent information shall constitute the first information .

A telegram is not a writing gi ven to the police signed by the peson maki ng the statement and, therefore, does not compl y with section 154, Code of Cri mi nal Procedure . If, however, in the opinion of an officer receiving a tel egram reporting the occurrence of a cogni zable offence, the circumst ances j ustify action being taken, he should hi mself lodge a f irst infor mation on the basis of the telegram. If he does not take such action, he should make an entry in the general di ary.

In the case of a telephone message reporti ng such an occurrence, the infor mant should be asked to come to the police – station to lodge the infor mation, and an entry of the message; should be made in the general diary. If it is considered’ necessar y to start investigation on the basis of the message: and the infor mant remains anonymous or cannot be found, the

officer receiving the message must hi mself lodge the infor mation on the basis ther eof .

(I ) Police officers shall not defer drawing up the infor mation report until they have t ested the truth of the compiaint . They shall not await the result of medical examination before recording a first information, when complai nt is made of grievous h urt or other cogni zable crime .

A conastable left in charge of a station may accept a writ ten report of a cogni zable offence . He shall get t he, report signed by t he person gi ving it, enter an abstract of it in the general diar y and report the fact to t he officer in charge of the station . If the report of a cognizable offence is gi ven, to such constable orally, he shall si milarl y enter the substance of it in the general di ary and send the complainant or in – for mant to the officer in charge of the station with a note of the case . If the r eport relates to the occurrence of heinous crime, he shall send i mmediate infor mation to the Circle Inspector; and if the facts of the case, as may occur in dacoit y, mur der, etc . , require the i mmediate apprehension of the: accused, he shall – take all possible steps to effect arrest .

First infor mation reports, once recorded, shall on no account be cancelled by station officers . .

First information to be recorded in all but certain cases

244 . (a) A first infor mation shall be recorded in respect of every cogni zable compl aint preferred before the police whether pri ma facie, false or true, whether serious or petty whether relative to an offence punishable under the Indian Penal Code or any special or l ocal law. This does not apply to cases under section 34 of the Police Act, 1861 . or to offences against Municipal, Rai lway and Telegraph by -laws f or which see regulation 254 .

(b) When a police officer has been assaulted in the peoffences against Municip al . Railway and Telegraph by -laws for previous per mi ssion of an officer superior in rank to a Sub – Inspector before instituting a case, where t his can be done without detri mental delay. The responsibility for complying with this order rests with the police officer who complains’ of an assault . When first information of such an offence is gi ven, the officer in charge of a police -station is bound by the provisions of section 154 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure to record a first infor mat ion .

When infor mation is lodged at a police -station, that a police -officer has committ ed a cognizable offence, t he officer in charge should proceed to enquire into the charge, but should send a copy of the first information i mmediatel y to the Superintendent and to the District or Subdi visional Magistrate .

Sections 21, 22 (1) read with section 25 and section 24 of the Cri minal Tribes Act, 1924

(VI of 1924), are cognizable by the police and in cases under these sections, first infor mation reports and charge sheets shal l be used . For an off ence under section 22(2), which is non -cogni zable, a report shall be submitted to the Magistrate for his taking cognizance and the offender shall be arrested by an officer in charge of a police – station or any police officer not below t he rank of a Sub – Inspector, no other police officer being empowered under the Act to arrest without a warrant .

Cognizable offence referred by Magistrate .

245 . (a) When a Magistrate directs the police to enquire into the complaint of a cognizable offence, of which no previous information has been laid before the police, the written information sent by the Magistrate to the police shall be treated as the first information .

In every case referred to the police for enquiry, a date shall be fixed by the Magistrate by which the report or an explanation of the cause of delay shall reach him.

Despatch of first information report .

246 . (a) The first page of the first infor mat ion report, vi z.. that signed, sealed or mar ked by the complainant or in .. for mant under section 154 . Code of Cri mi nal Procedure, shal l be treated as the original . It shall be sent without delay to the District Magistrate or the Sub divisional Magistrate, as the case may be, through the Court officer. The first ca rbon copy of the first infor mation shall be sent to Superintendent . The seconcl copy shall be kept at the police -station for future reference and a third copy shall be prepar ed in plain paper and made over. free of charge, to the complainant or informant who shall acknowledge receipt on the copy of the first infor mation report to be kept at the police -station . A copy (not car bon) shall be sent to the Circle Inspector direct at the same ti me as the original and the first carbon copy are despatched t o the Co urt officer and the Superintendent . In subdi visions where there is a Subdi visional Police Officer two copies of the first information report shall be made out on . ordinar y paper, by the carbon process, one for the Subdi visional Police Officer and the other for the Circle Inspector..

Border crime to be reported .

In order to secur e full co -operation between officers of bordering police stations the officer in charge of a police station sha1l , i mmediatel y on receipt of infor mation of the commission of all cri me within three miles of his border other than that referred to in clause (c), send inti mation by post card (B . P. For m No . 27 A) t o the officers in charge of t hel police stations concerned and if it borders on another circle” to the Circle Inspector concerned .

The officers receiving such reports shall mark the occurrence on their crime map, not e the fact in the general diary and take such steps as may be necessar y.

Serious cases to be forthwith reported.

( c) On receipt of i nfor mation of the com mission of any of the offences mentioned in Appendix XV and of any serious offence by a police officer the officer in charge of the police station shall infor m his Superintendent, Circle Inspector and other officers i n the manner prescribed in t hat Appendi x

Use of railway telegraphs and control telephones in emergencies .

( d) With a view to assisting the police in t he prevention of cri me, the Railway Board have issued intructions to railway officials to the effect that information regarding any occurr ence endangering to the human life, ser vants of the Crown or Crown propert y should be despatched forthwith by railway telegraph to the Superintendent and if possible to the nearest police -station, even in circumstances where the in . formant is unable to tender payment for the message, and that where transmission by telephone is likel y to be the, quicker method, the control telephones should be utilized for thi s purpose . The cost of such telegrams if not paid by the infor mant may be recovered from the Provincial Government .

List of stolen Property to be obtained from the complainant .

247 . In cases invol ving loss of property, the complainant shall be reqired to put in a list of the property stolen si gned by hi mself, which shall be sent to the Court officer with the first infor mation report . The investi gating officer shall keep a copy of the list to aid him in his enquiry. If the complainant is unable to fur nish a list of the property when he gi ves the f irst infor mation, he shall be required by the investi gation officer to supply a list in writing as Police Regulations Bengal 1943

soon as possible . The investi gating officer shall forward it, dul y signed by the complainant, to the Court officer. Ever y effort must be made to secure from t he complainant at the time when the first in – for mation is recorded the most precise descripti on of the stolen proper ty.

Heinous cases occurring outside jurisdiction.

248 . (a) When the report of a crime mentioned in clause (c) o f regulation 246 or triable exclusivel y by the court of Sessio ns relates to an occurrence outside the Jurisdiction of the officer to whom the report is made, he shall at once send infor mati on, by telegram whenever possible or by Express letter, to the police station in the jurisdiction of which the occurence took place, and if the circumstances of the case warrant it, shall effect the apprehension of the accused .

In cases where the officers of t wo or more police – stations have j urisdiction in respect of the same offence, and complaint is laid si multaneously at su ch st ations, the police, officers concerned shall appl y to the Superintendent for instructions before submission of the final report . When complai nt is laid in two districts regarding an offence which is cognizable in either district (section 182, etc . , Co de of Cri minal Procedure), the final report shall be submitted in one district only.

Information of an offence committed within and outside railway limits .

249 . When infor mation of an offence committed within railway li mits is gi ven at a dist rict police -station, the off icer in charge of that police -station shall record the infor mation on plain paper and send i t by the quickest rout e to the officer in charge of the railway pol ice – station concerned, in order that – the case may be regist ered and i nvesti gated by the Rai lway Police . Should i mmediate action meanwhile be necessar y, the District Police shall take such action as they legall y may.

Si milar action shall be taken by the Railway Police when infor mation is lodged with them of an offence committed outside railway li mits .

Issue of hue and cry notices .

250 . (a) When the i mmediate dissemi nation of intelligence and the cooperation of the st aff of neighbouring railway and district police -station is desirable,hue -and -cr y’ notices in B . P. For m No . 28 shall be i ssued in the following classes of cases when all the person concerned have not been Immedi ately arrested or the property stolen has not been recovered: – (i ) professional druggi ng cases ;

dacoit y, and all organized cri me in which wandering gangs, foreigners or resident s of other j urisdictions are known or suspected to have been concerned ; escapes of prisoners from . lawful custody; cases of cheating by professional cri minals ; cases of shaking off police super vision by wanderinggangs; and

(vi ) i mportant cases in which the accused have absconded after committing the offence, or in which identifiable property of large value has been stolen .

Hue -and -cr y notices should ordinarily be despatc hed by post, unless there is reason to believe that the i mmediate communication of infor mation to some particular officer on officers may result in the apprehension of culprits or the recovery of stolen propert y , in which case the contents of the hue -and -cr y notices should be communicated to such off icer, or officers by “special police” telegrams or by special messengers, whichever is li kely t o prove quicker. Full det ails should be i mmedi ately despatched by post .

All police -statibns shall maintain a l ist of bordering district and railway police -stat ions including their outposts, showing the district of each place from t he nearest telegraph office . These lists shall be approved by the Superint endent .

The hue -and -cr y notice shall be drawn up by the officer in charge of the police -st ation who draws up the first infor ma – tion report of the case, one copy being sent to the Superin – Police Regulations Bengal 1943

tendent along with the first information of the case by the quickest available means . The officer in charge shal l exercise his discretion as to which other officers the notice should also be sent direct . The Superintendent shall at the same ti me be i nfor med of the officer s to whom the notice has been sent . On receipt of the notice the Superi ntendent shall send copies to the Superintendent, Railway Police, or to any other officer to whom it has not been sent direct if he considers i t desirable .

Note . -When a notice is to be sent to a police -station of the Cal cutta Police, anadditi onal copy shall be sent to the Commsioner of Po1 ice, Calcutta, for circulation through the Calcutta Police Gazet te .

On receipt of a hue -and cr y notice the officer -in -charge of a police -station shall at once enter it in red ink in the register of letters r eceived and in the general diary and shal l take all necessary action . He shall cause enquiries to be made about the movements of local bad characters and shall check sur veillance reports . He shall also enquire into points menti oned in the hue -and -cr y notice which require particular investigation and shall communicate the result in a brief, suppl ementar y case diar y. He shall in all cases communicate the contents of the notice to his subor dinates and to all dafadars and chaukidars of his j urisdiction, either by special messengers as far as possible or at muster parades, and shall warn them to be on the look -out for the offender or stolenl propert y, as the case may be . All actions taken shall be clearly noted on each notice, which shall be consecuti vel y numbered and filed . Successful detection of culprits or tracing of stolen property should be always rewarded .

Action to be taken of receipt of information regarding intestate property.

251 . (a) On receipt of infor mation that any person who has died intestate has left movable property to which there is no claimant, the officer in charge of a police station shall , in accordance with Bengal Regulation V of 1799, take possession of such propert y and shall forward to the Subdi visional Magistrate a list in B . P. For m 29 of all ite ms taken into custody. This list shall specify the appr oxi mate value of any ani mal which has been impounded in accordance with clause (c). This orders of the Di strict Judge regarding the disposal of the propert y shall then be awaited .

If the deceased has also left any i mmovable propert y, the officer in charge shall collect such particulars as possible, regarding the pr operty and shall record them in a memoran – dum which shall be attached to B .. P. For m No . 29 .

Ordinarily property, including li ve -st ock, which has been taken into custody in accordance with clause (a), shall not be sold without the orders of the District Judge . If, however, it includes any items which ver y rapidl y deteriorate and perish, the officer in charge may exercise his discret ion in selling such items in anticipation of orders . Li ve -stock shall be placed in the nearest pound .

When propert y is sold, either under clause (c) or under the orders of the District Judge, it shall be sold by the officer in charge and, whenever pos sible, at a public mar ket . He shall prepare an account of the sale in B . P. Form No . 30, which shall be forwarded, in triplicate, along with the proceeds of the sale, to the Subdivisional Magistrate . If any ani mal which has been i mpounded is sol d, the pound fees shal l be paid from the proceeds of the sale direct to the pound – keeper, and the balance onl y forwarded with the account .

If the District Judge or ders that the property be sent to court, the officer in charge shall despatch it with a for warding advice in B . P. For m No . 31 in triplicate, in whichi shall be recorded the cost of tr ansporting the propert y. If the deceased has been buried or cremat ed at the expense of a milnicipality , the expenses so incurred shall also be recorded: in the f or m and the Chair man or Vice . Chair man shall be advised to appl y to the District Judge for the recover y of the expenses .

The third copy of B . P. For m N0 . 31 or of For m N0 . 30 whi ch will, in due course, be returned by the District Judge, shall be filed in the p olice -station . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The police shall not question the validit y of any clai m or wil l which may be set up by any clai mant, and property shall not be taken into custody from the possession of any such claimant . If, however, the officer in charge has reason to believe that a claimant has obtai ned possession dishonestl y or that a will has been forged, he shall appl y to the superintendent for orders regarding prosecution under section 404 or section 467, Indi an Penal Code .

Warning to owners and occupiers of land when a breach of the peace is apprehended.

252 . (a) When a dispute in respect of land which is li kel y to lead t o a breach of the peace is reported the officer in charge of the police – station or outpost or any officer noti below the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspector deputed by hi m shall, if immediat e preventi ve action on his own part is not requir ed, issue a warning in B . P. For m No . 32 to the owner, occupier or other person having or claimi ng an interest in such land . Such war ning bring s the owner, occupier or person clai ming an interest in the land within the scope of section 154, Indian Penal Code, should he not endeavour to prevent the dispute culminating in a riot .

The warning shall be issued in duplicate, and the: si gnature or left thumb i mpression of the person to whom it is issued shall be obtained on the duplicate copy in the presence of reliable witnesses, whose names and addresses should be noted . The exact date and hour of service shall be noted on the duplicate copy which should then be pasted on to the office copy.

Forgery of currency notes

253 . (a) On receipt of a forged note from any source, an enquiry should be undertaken regarding its ori gin and a report sent i mmediately to the Currency Officer , Calcutta, a copy being sent to the Deputy Inspector -General, Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment . This report should contain the foll owing infor mation regarding each note or series of notes: – (i ) Denomination .

Serial letters and number. General number. Circle and date of notes of old t ype . Place of appearance .(vi ) Date of appearance .( vii) Whether process or hand made . –

If in regard to any forged note an enquiry is not considered necessar y, it wi ll be forwarded by the offic er in charge to the Currency Officer along with the report mentioned in clause (a), other wise after the enquir y or investigation has been completed . In the l atter event a reference will be made to the ori ginal inti mation sent to the Currency Officer reporting the discovery. If on receipt of the first report it appears to the Currency Off icer that the forger y is new and to be process – made and the note has not been sent with the report, he, will i mmediately call for it in order to communicate the particulars to all other Currency Officers and shall thereafter return the note to the police for any further investi gation that they may desire to make .

The Currency Officer has been directed to send to the police, for enquiry, all process made new forgeries irres pec – ti ve of their face val ue and all forged notes of Rs . 10 or of a hi gher denomination, recei ved by hi m (vide paragraph 368, Reser ve Bank of India, Issue Depart ment Manual) .

If there is any probability of the guilt of the utterer or forger being est ablished, a case should be for mall y instituted and thoroughl y investi gated by expert officers . The Superintendent is responsible for seeing tha1 proper discri mination, is displayed, both i n the matter of instituting appropriate cases, and in speciall y repo rt ing such of these as are required to be reported in accordance with serial 12 of the Schedule attached to Appendix XV.

On the conclusion of enquiries, where cases are not instituted, final reports along with the forged notes shoul d be sent to the Cu rrency officer in .. continuation of the first reports Police Regulations Bengal 1943

showing the result of t he enquiries made and quoting in each case t he number and date of the first report .

When cases are instituted but not special ly reported, the short histories referred to in the remar ks column agai nst serial 12 of the Schedufe attached to Appendix XV shoul d be submitted quoting the reference to the report submitted in accordance with clause (a) above .

Should a case be sent up in charge -sheet a copy of the j udgment shou ld be sent along with the final report .

Particular attention should be paid to the investigation of dangerous £ orgeries, i . e . , those which are sufficientl y good to decei ve persons accustomed to handling notes as such case are reported by the Deputy In spector -General , Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment, to the Director, Intelli gence Bureau, for the infor mation of the Central Government . The reports . on such forgeries should include infor mation r egarding the area in which the notes have been circulated, w hether t here is reason to believe that a large number have been put into circulation, and whether the investi gation has led to the detection of the forgers of any other known series of dangerous forgeries .

Cases in which first information not submitted.

254 . (a) A register shall be kept in B . P. For m No . 33 in which shall be entered all cases enquired into by the police in which no first information report is required, e . g . , cases under municipal or railway bye -laws, section 34, Police Act, 1861, . cases under sections 107, 109,110,144 and 145 of the Code ofi Criminal Procedure, non -cognizable cases under the Cri minal Tribes Act, 1924, cases under sections 176, 182 or 211, Indian Penal Code, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, Serais Act, 1867, etc . , etc .

A separate register in Bengal For m No . 403 ( Q), ( B . P. For m No . 34) shall be maint ained for all occurrences of collision, breakdown and running down in which a motor vehicle is concerned . The for m is printed in duplicate in bound books, th e upper foil being perforated . As soon as an incident of this nature occurs, an entr y shall be made in this for m and an enquiry started . When the enquiry is complete, the perforated copy shall be sent through the Circle Inspector to the Superintendent . If, as a result of this enquiry, the Superintendent considers that a cognizable case under the Indian Penal Code has been made out, he will order the usual first i nfor mation report and case diaries to be uti lised, but this for m will be attached so that it may ser ve as a brief for the prosecution . If , on the other hand, the Superintendent considers that the enquir y di scloses an offence under the Motor ‘ Vehicle Act, 193C, or the rules framed thereunder or other minor Acts, then this for m together with a report in B . P . For m No . 35 shall be submitted by . the investigating officer to the Magistrate . In a case in which no prosecution is con – sidered necessar y, the perforated copy of the for m shall be returned by t he Superintendent to the police -station to be filed w ith the counter foil . In a case in which a prosec,ution is ordered, this for m shall be submitted eventuall y t o the Superintendent together with the final memorandum and he shall after perusal pass orders, if necessary, and return it with the police -station copy of the final memorandum.

Reports to the court for trial in such cases, excepting those under sections 107 and 145, Code of Cri minal Procedure, which shall be submitted in duplicate in B . P. For m No . 36, shall be submitted in duplicate in B . P. Fo r m No . 35 . In cases however, under the Cri minal Tribes Act, 1924, and Goondas Act, 1923 ( Bengal Act I of 1923), sections 109 and 110, Code of Cai minal Procedure, or under section 182 or 211, Indian Penal Code, onl y one copy of the for m shall be used . In all cases where dupli cate for ms are used one copy showing the r esult of the case shall be returned by the Court off icer direct to the station officer in lieu of a final memorandum . Care shall be taken to see that column 6 of For m No 33 is filled up in due course . If after a reasonable period the duplicate copy is not returned with the Magistr ate’s orders a reminder shall be sent to the Court police office .

III . - INVESTIGATION

Responsibility of station officer.

235 . (a) The general r espo nsibility for all investi gations within the limits of his j urisdiction will rest with the seni or Sub – Inspector of the police -station .

No officer of lower rank than a Sub – Inspector shall be empl oyed in the investigation of criminal cases except in una voidable emergencies when an Assistant Sub – Inspector may be so employed as laid down in regulation 207(c) .

Investigating officer to consult connected registers before proceeding to investigate .

256 . When an offence is reported, th e investigating officer shall consult all registers which are likel y to assist him in his investi gation, particularly the Village Crime Note -Book, before proceeding to investi gate .

Abstention from investigation

257 . (a) Any office r in charge of a police -station may, under section l57(b), Code of Cri minal Procedure, r efrain altogether from investi gating a case in which there appears to hi m to be insufficient ground for investi gati ng .

Police officers shall observe the following broad principles in exercising the discretion vested in them by sect ion 157(b) of the Code of Cri minal Procedure: –

Ever y cogni zable offence, other than one of those enumerated in clause II below, shall ordinarily be investigated, if the infor mant so desires . If f or any special reason no investi gation is made, the special reason shal l be recorded .
No investi gation shall ordinarily be made in —————-

(i ) cases in which the inj ured person does not wish for an enqui ry , unless the offence h as occurred in a crime centre or appears to be really serious . or may reasonabl y be suspected to be the wor k of a professional or habitual off ender or a member of a cri minal tribe known to be addicted to cri me . or unless it is otherwi se desirable in the in terests of the public that the case shall be investi gated ;

cases which, after consideration of the infor mation and of anytnihg which the informant may have to say, appear to fall under section 95, Indian Penal Code; and

cases in which the in for mation shows t he case to be of a pur ely ci vil nature, i . e . , where the infor mant is apparently seeking to take advantage of a petty or technical offence to bring into the cri minal court s a matter which ought properly to be decided by the ci vil courts .

These instructions indicate only general principle, and Police officers shall exercise their discretion in ever y cogni zable case that is r eported to them .

NOTE -In the cases referred to in clause II (iii ) above, the points to be considered are whether the complainant can obtain adequate redress from the courts by instituting a prosecution, and whet her action on the part of the police is expedi ent for the preser vation of order. When the charge is of enticing away a girl (section 363, Indian Penal Code, and cognate sections,) the police should be careful to ascertain that the case is not one of elopement or of a girl running away to her parents on account of ill -treat ment, and in cases of cattle theft that it i s not a mere dispute as to ownership, or as t o the payment of the price of an ani mal purchased .

In cases where investigation is refused t he complainant or infor mant shall be infor med in B . P. For m No . 37 or 37A of the fact and of t he reasons for abstenti on .

Investigation on the spot .

258 . If the officer in charge of a police -station decides that an investi gation is necessary, after despatching a first information report, he shall himself proceed to the spot or depute a subordinate to hold an enquir y, Who shall not be below the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspector. In a case where the complaint is not of a ser ious nature, and is made against a person known, Police Regulations Bengal 1943

clause (a) of section 157, Code of Cri minal Procedure, does away with the legal necessit y for a local investi gation, but it is v er y seldom that advantage should be taken of this section . In rural areas, it is per missible onl y when a case of a si mple natur e is br ought to the police complete, the complai nant and witnesses being present . In towns, the investi gation may be conducted at the police -station if it is close to the scene of cri me .

Investigation outside jurisdiction.

259 . Subj ect to the pr ovisions of section 156, code of Cri minal Procedure, no station officer may be deputed to undertake the duties of, o r conduct a special enquiry in, the j urisdiction of another police -station, without the sanction of the Circle Inspector or any officer of hi gher rank. [See regulation 189(u) . ]

Harassment of the public to be avoided [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

260 . Investi gating off icers should carefully abstain from causi gn unnecessar y harassment either to the parties or to the people generally. Onl y those persons who are likel y to assist the inquiry matterial Iy should be summoned to attend . Where possible, the investi gating officer should hi mself go to the house of the witness to be examined . The proceedings should be as infor mal as possible . The questioning of witnesses should ordinarily be conducted apart, and in a manner that will not be distaste £ ul to them.

Duration of investigation. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

261 . (a) The investi gating officer shall, whenever possible pursue the investi gation t o its completion without a break in continuit y.

The investi gating officer may, for the purpose of following up any clue or cond ucti ng an enquiry which may be done more easil y and expeditiousl y in person than by correspondence, proceed beyond the limits of his j urisdiction, but he shall report his intention to the Inspector before proceeding .

Circle Inspectors shall see that i nvestigating officers compl ete their investi gations as required by section 173, Code of Cri minal Procedure, and that the provisions of clause (b} are not abused . If the directions in clause (a) are strictly observed, it should rarel y be necessary to prolon g the investigation of even the most difficult case beyond 15 days .

The practice of delaying the submission of the final report after the completion of the local enquir y on the spot shall be discouraged . It is the dut y of Superintendents and even . more of Inspectors to insist that investigations in cases in which the accused are known are brought promptl y t o a conclusion .

When a Magistrat e forwards a complaint to the officer in charge of a police -station for investi gation, it shall , when – ever possibl e, be completed within the ti me fixed by the Magistrate for that purpose . If this is not possible, the investi gating officer shall, in any event, report by the prescribed! date the pr ogress made and the date by which he expects to complete the invest i gation .

The same procedure shall be followed when an enquir y is made i nto a complaint referred to the police under sect:on . 155 (I ) or section 202, Code of Cri minal Procedure .

Complaintsl of illtreatment against the police by arrested persons . [ $ 12, A ct V, 1861 . ]

262 . Directly an accused person is placed under arrest, the investigating officer shal l ask

hi m whether he has any complaint to make of ill treat ment by the police, and shall enter in the case diar y the question and answer. If an alleg ation of ill treat ment is made, the investi gating officer shall then and there examine the prisoner ‘s body, if the prisoner consents, to see if there are any mar ks of ill -treatrnent, and shall record the result of his examination . He shall further consider and note whether there is any reason to believe that mar ks found are attributable to other causes than ill -treat ment . such as resistance to arrest . If the prisoner refuses to allow! his body to be examihed, the refusal and the reason therefor Police Regulations Bengal 1943

shall be recorded . If the investi gating officer finds that there . is reason to believe the allegation of ill -treatment, he shall forwar d the prisoner with his complaint, the recor d of corporal examination, any other evidence available, and if possible the police offi cers implicated by the prisoner ‘s complaint, to the nearest Magistrate having j urisdiction to enquire into the case .

Case diary. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

263 . (a) Section 172, Code of Cri minal Procedure, prescribes the case dair y which an investi gating offi cer i s bound by law to keep of his proceedings in connection with; the investi gation of each case . The law requires the diary to show –

(i ) the ti me at which the infor mation reached hi m; the ti me at which he began and closed his investi gation ; the place or places visited by hi m; a statement of the circumstances ascertained through his invest igation .

Nothing which does not fall under one of the above heads need be entered, but all assistance rendered by panchayat s or presidents or memb ers of union boards shall be noted . When the in £ or mation gi ven by the panchayat or pr esident or a member of a union board is of a confidential nature, his name shall not be entered in the case di ary, but the investi gating officel ‘ shall communicate his name and the information obtained from; hi m in a separate report, and shall at the same ti me note briefl y in the case diar y that this has been done . , Under heads (iii) and (iv) shall be noted the particulars of the house searches made with the names of witnesses i n whose, presence search was made (secti on103, Code of Cri minal Procedure) ; by whom, at what hour, and in what place arrests were made; in what place property was found, and of what description; the facts ascertained; on what points further evidence is necessar y, and what further steps are being taken wi th a view to complete the investi gation .

The diary shall mention ever y clue obtained even though at the time it seems unpr ofitable, and ever y step taken by the investigating officer, but it shall b e as concise as possible . The statements of witnesses shall not be recorded in the diar y, but t he names of all witnesses examined shall be gi ven . The diar y shall be a record of acts done by the officer and of the facts ascertained by hi m, i . e . , of the result of his investigation .

A diary so composed, that is a diary whi ch does not contain the statement of witnesses, is

privileged . The court may send for it and may use it, not as evidence, but as an ai d in j udicial enquiry or trial, but the accused has no right to call it . or to see it . even if referred

to by the court; the only exception is that when it has been used by the police officer who made it to refresh his memor y or when the court use it for the pur pose of contradicting such officer, then the provisions of section 145 or section 161 of the Evidence Act, 1872 ( I of 1872y shall appl y.

Instructions for Writing case diary. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

264 . (a) Case diaries (B . P. For m No . 38) shall be written up as t he enquir y progresses, and not at the end of each day. The hour of each entr y and name of place at which written shall be gi ven in the column on the extreme left . A note shall be made at the end of each diary of the place from, the hour at, and the means by which, it is despat ched . The place where’ the investi gating officer halts for the ni ght shall also be mentioned . A speci men case diary is gi ven in Appendix XVI.

A case diar y shall be submitted in ever y case investi gated . The diary relating to two or more days shall never be written on one sheet or despatched together. Two or more cases should never be report ed in one diary; a separate diary shall be submitted in each case daily until the enquir y is

completed . But it is not necessar y to send one on any day on , which the investi gation, though pending, is not proceeded with . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The diar y shall be written in duplicate with carbon paper, and at the close of the day the carbon copy, along wit h copies of any statement which may havc been recorded under sect ion 161, Code of Cri mi nal Procedure and the list s of propert y recovered under section 103 or 165 of that Code, shall be sent to the Circle Inspector. In subdivisions when there is a Subdi visional Police Officer, another copy of the diary in special and misconduct report cases shall be made out by the carbon process and submitted t o hi m. This copy shall be preserved for one year. When an investigation is controlled by an Inspector of the Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment, the investi gating officer shall forward the Circle Inspetor ‘s copy of the case diar y thr ough that officer who shall stamp or write on the diar y the dat e of receipt by hi m and aft er perusal, forward it t o the Circle Inspector.

In special report cases an extra carbon copy shall be prepared of the diaries, statements of witnesses recor ded and lists of propert y r ecovered and sent direct to -t he Superinten – dent and a further carbon copy to the Subdi visional Police Officer wher e there is one . ,

Each for m shall have a separate printed number running; consecutivel y througho ut the book so that no two for ms shall bear the same number. On the conclusion of an investi gat ion;

the sheets of the ori gi nal diar y shall be removed from the book and filed together. Ever y file shall be docketed with the number, month and year of the firs t i nfor mation report, the final for m submitted, and t he name of the compl ainant, the accused, and the investigating officer. The orders regarding preservation and destruction of these papers shall also be noted .

(f ) When sending charge -sheet to the Court officer, the; investi gating officer shall send all his ori ginal case diaries which shall be returned by the Court officer on the case being finally disposed of (vi de regulation 272) .

Case diaries shall be written in English by those officers competent to do so . Other officers shall write their diaries in the vernacular. Statements recorded under section 161 Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall, however, always be recorded in the vernacular, except when recorded by Eur opean officers .

Instructions for the custody and dispatch of case diaries are gi ven in regulation 68 .

Recording of statements under section 161, Criminal Procedure Code .

265 . Besides the diar y an investigating officer has discretion, under section 161 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure, to record or not the statement of any witness examined by hi m. All such statements shall be signed and dated by the officer recording them and, when taken in his presence, by the superior officer locally super vising the case . No such recorded scatement shall be used for any pur pose (except the following) at an enquiry into or tri al of the case in which it was recorded . When, however, the witness, statement has been so recorded, is called for, examination by the prosecution, the accused is, under section 162 of the Code, entitled to request the court to refer to the statement, and the court is bound to do so . The court shall also direct the accused t o be furnished with a copy thereof in order that any part of such statement, if dul y proved, may be used to contradict such witness as’ provided in section 145 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 . Onl y if the court considers that any portions are irrel evant or that its . discl osure is not essential to the interests of j ustice, and is inexpedient in the public inte rests it shall exclude such part from the copy of the statements furnished t o the accused . The rule regarding the confi dential treatment of case diaries is, mutatis mutandis, applicable to statements recorded under section 161, Code of Cri minal Procedure .

Dying declaration. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

266 . (a) If it is not possible to have the statement of a person whose evidence is required and who is in i mmient danger of death recorded by a Magistrate and it becomes necessar y for some other person to r ecord a dying declaration, this shall be done, whenever possible, in the presence of the accused or of attesting wit nesses . A dying declaration made, to a pol ice officer shall be si gned by the person maki ng it . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

If a seriousl y inj ured person, not in i mminent danger of death, is sent to hospital the investi gating officer shall warn the medical officer about having the person’s statement; recorded by a Magistr ate, should the necessity for such a course ar ise .

In case of doubt whether action under cl ause (a) or under clause (b) should be taken, the investi gating officer shall act in accordance with clause (a).

Police may not decide question of lunacy. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

267 . It is not for a police officer to deci de whether a person charged with a cogni zabl e offence is or is not a lunatic . He will deal with the case as if the person were sane, and i f an offence be proved, wil l send the prisoner up for trial . But: the investigating officer shall ask the court to have an enquiry, made regarding the mental cond ition of the accused as soon’ as he shows si gns of insanity and he shall . not send up witnesses for the prosecution without previousl y ascertaining whether in the opIni on of the court the pri soner is capable of making his, defence .

Investigation of non – cognizable cases . [ 12Act V ,1861 . ]

268 . (a) On receipt of a copy of the complai nt from a Magistrate directing an investi gation to be made by the police under section 155, Code of Cri mi nal Procedure, in a case which is . not cognizable by the Police or orde ring the Police to enquire under section 202 of that code together with the intimation of the date by which the report of t he investi gation or enquiry shall reach hi m, the police officer concerned shall, if . he is unable to report by the date fixed, send a report on or before such date explaining the delay and stating on what date the report is expected to r each hi m. The complainant should be infor med of the date so fixed and directed to appear bef ore the investi gating officer at the scene of t he occurrence :

Subdi visionaI Pol ice Officers or Circle Inspectors shall watch the wor king of these sections so far as they affect the police and bring to the notice of the Superintendent any irregular orders passed by Magistrates or the excessive use of this, proc edure . (See regulation 21 . )

Binding down of witnesses . [12, ActV, 1861 . ]

269 . (a) Unless the Di strict Magistrate otherwise directs, the witnesses shall be bound down to attend before the Magistrate as soon as they can reach his court, except when the occurrence of a gazett ed holiday renders it i mprobable that the case can be heard at once, in which case they shall be bound down to appear on the morning of the next day after the holiday or holidays . If any delay is allowed for the convenience of the witne sses or for any other special reason, t he circumstances shall be at once reported to the Magistrate .

To enable the Court officer to prepare himself for the case in time for the trial, charge

sheets shaJl be sent so as to reach hi m at l east one clear d ay bef ore the date fixed for trial, The final diar y shall contain a summar y of the case and a synopsis of the evidence against the accused .

Number of witnesses to be sent up . [12, Act V, 1861 . ]

270 . It lies with the police, subj ect to general instruct ions from the Magistrate, to determi ne what evidence is necessary to establish a charge, and what number of witnesses are required to prove each fact . Much will, of course, depend on whether the fact is seriousl y disputed or not . Where the fact to be prov ed is not li kely to be disputed, unnecessary witnesses should not be harassed by being sent in . Under section 171 . Code of Crir:ninal Procedure, no witness or complainant can be required to accompany a police off icer. A witness refusing to execute a bond may be sent up in custody.

Information from post or telegraph office records .

271 . Records of a post or telegraph office shall be produced and infor mation available in them shall be gi ven by the post master or telegraph master on the written order of any police Police Regulations Bengal 1943

officer who is making an investi gation under the Code of Cri minal Procedure; but onl y those entries in the records shall be disclosed whi ch relate to the persons accused of the offence under investi gation, or which are relevant t o that offence . In any other case the post master shall refer for orders to the Post master -General, who will deci de whether or not, under section 124 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the in – for mation r equired shall be withheld . When the infor mation required by a police offi cer is not availabl e in the records of the post office, the police officer shall be infor med accordingl y, irrespective of the question whether the infor mation, if available, mi ght or mi ght not be gi ven . –

C h a r g e – sheets . [ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

272 . (a) When an offi cer in charge of a police -tation on completion of an investi gation under Chapter X IV, Code of Cri minal Procedure, finds the charge proved and proposes to proceed against any person, he shall, notwithstandi ng that he has failed to arrest all or any of the persons against whom the charge is proved, at once submit a charge -sheet in B . P. For m N’o . 39, which is the report prescribed under section 173, Code of Criminal Procedure . Thus a charge -sheet shall be submitted when the accused is absconding or is sent up for trial in custody or on bond (section 170, Code of Criminal Procedure) . In cases where an accused is absconding, the investigating officer shall submit with the charge -sheet a list of the absconder ‘s propert y so that the court may issue attachm ent orders .

The following instructions shall be obser ved: –

( I) The charge -sheet shall be sent by the qui cket means to the Court officer for submissi on to the Magistrate . When a prima facie case is made out in a case in which articles have been sent for chemical analysis, the charge -sheet shall not be delayed ti ll receipt of the Chemical Examiner ‘s report . If a case in the first instance is reported in final report for m, but subsequentl y by the Magistrate’s order or otherwise, the accused person is pl aced on his trial, the final report for m shall be cancel led and a charge -sheet submitted . If, on tr ansit from a police -station to the court, an accused person absconds, the charge -sheet for m shall stand . The case shall be kept; pending till t he absconder i s arrested, or till his arrest is con – sidered hopeless .

When submitting a charge -sheet, the officer in charge of a police -station shall communicate in B . P. For m No . 40 or 40A, t he action taken by hi m to the person, if any, by whom infor mation relati ng to the commission of the offence was fir st gi ven .

Lists of propert y stolen, lists of propert y found on parties arr ested, reports on previous convictions, the bail and recognisance bonds executed under section 170, Code of Cri minal Procedure (For ms XXV and XXVI of Schedule V. of the Code), and a map in cases in which the rules require a map, shall be attached to the charge -sheet for m. Onl y the pr ecise particulars as required by the column headings shalt be noted in the charge -sheet . The charge -sheet shall be gi ven an annual serial number and counter foil shall be kept at the

police -station . Superi or officers of police may not return or detain a charge -sheet once submitted by the investigating officer. They may, however, direct a further enquir y pend ing the instructions of the District Magistrate . If the correct name or address of the accused has not been ascertained t he investigating officer shall ask that a remand be applied for .

A police officer sending up an accused person for trial shall c ertify on the back of the charge -sheet that he has carefully examined the register of persons convicted (Village; Crime Note -Book, Part II), and that he has in all other respects made full enquiry whether such accused person bas been previousl y convicted . A si miilar certificate shall be gi ven regar ding absconders against whom a charge is proved . Should previous convictions be ascertained, a short report of all par ticlars concerning them, including the names of any person who can prove each previous convicti on, will be sent with the charge -sheet to enable the Court off icer to prove them under section 511, Code of Criminal Procedure . In addition to the certificate referred to, the investigating officer, when t he accused is charged with an offence for which enhanced punishment can be gi ven on reconviction, shall note on the back of the charge – sheet as to whether the accused has resided in his j urisdiction for a period of more or less than 10 years .

When the entr y r egarding the previous conviction of the pe rson sent for trial would, under existing rules, be in the register of another station, the investigating officer will note this fact on the charge -sheet and infor m t he officer in charge of that station that such a Police Regulations Bengal 1943

person is being sent for trial, in order that the latter may search his station register and supply direct to the Court officer the required particulars about his previous conviction . On receipt of this report, the Court officer shall attach it to the charge -sheet . The receipt, however, of such i nfor mation in no way relieves a sadar Court officer from the perfor mance of the duty of searchi ng the index, to the register of convictions and ascertaining whether any conviction other than those noted by t he station -police are’ entered therein against an accused person . Enquiries should; not be made in Nepal as the antecedents of person professing to reside in that State .

(vi ) On the duplicate of the charge -sheet shall be entered in r ed ink the number of the volume and page of the conviction (Village Cri me Kote -Book, Part II) and sur veillance registers in which the convict ‘s name has been registered, and in all cases declared true, whether convicted or not, the number of the entry in the propert y register, if any, shall also he; noted .

The antecedents of each accused person shall be noted on the back of the charge -sheet under one or other of t he following heads: –

( I) Known thief, dacoi t, robber.(2) Vagrant with no fi xed residence .

(3) Suspicious charact er.(4) Habitual drunkard .(5) Prostitute .(6) Good character.(7) Antecedents unknown .

Map or plan to accompany charge sheet in certain cases . [ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

273 . (a) A map or plan shall always accompany the charge – sheet i n cases of murder, dacoity, serious riot, mail robbery, hi ghway rob ber y, extensi ve burglar y or theft where Rs . 600 or more are stolen . Ordi narily, maps will not be required in cases other than those menti oned above; but the investi gatin officer may, at his discretion, prepare and send up a map in any other case . The map s hall be prepared at as earlya stage of the investigation as possible .

The map shall, if possible, be drawn to scale, but this is not essential . If not drawn to scale, the fact shall be noted clearl y on the map ..

( c) The draughtsman or investigating officer who prepares the map shall bear in mind t hat it is essential for a cor rect appreciation of t he situation by the court and j ury that a clear distinction should be made bet ween (i) facts actually seen by the draughtsman hi mself and

facts deposed to only by witnesses . Stat ements made by’ the draughtsman as to the f irst group are always relevant; his statements as to the second are prima facie inadmissibl e and cannot be used as pri mary evidence to go to t he j ury.

It is necessary to mai ntain a suit able distinction in the map bet ween these two sets of facts . This distinction shall be effected as follbws : –

The obj ects actually seen by the person preparing the map including such per manent features as buildings, . trees, roads, paths and tangible points connected with the case, such as blood stains, foot -prints, cloth and corpse, etc . , actually seen by him shalt be indicated by letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D, etc . , explanations of these letters being gi ven prefer ably in the margin of the map, but if this cannot be convenientl y done, the explanations shall be furnished on a separate sheet of paper attached to the map .

Particulars deri ved from witnesses, e . g . , the place where witness X is said to have st ood, where the accused is said to hav e been standing when seen by X, where the blow was st ruck, etc . , shall be indicated on the map by the numbers I, 2, 3, 4, etc, The explanations of t hese numbers, however, shall on no account be gi ven on the face of the map or on the separate sheet of paper referred to above, but on another sheet of paper distinct from either the map or the list of explanations of the actual facts indicated by letters .

The number if the case and the name of the accused shall be given at the top of the map and the si gnature of t he person who prepar ed it at the foot . Use should always be made of cadastral and other maps, where they are available and are of sufficiently large scale .

The draughtsman or the investigating offi cer who prepared the map shall be produced a s a witness at the trial . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Memo . of evidence $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

274 . Si multaneousl y with the submission of the charge sheet and its annexures, the investi gating officers shall submit to the Court Officer a memorandum of evidence in B . P. For m No . 41A to be attached to the final case diary. A copy of the memorandum should also be sent to the Superint endent of Police .

The memorandum of evidence shall be kept apart and shall not f or m part of the case diary during the pendency of the case .

Final report forms . [ $ 12, Act V 1861 . ]

275 . (a) A final report in B . P. For m No . 42 shall be drawn up by the invest gating officer in ever y investi gated case which does not result m charge -sheet . In column 9 a clear statement of the case and of the evidence shall be gi ven together with the r easons for not sending up any person for trial . The investi gating offi cer shall also suggest in the same col:umn with reasons how the case may be entered by the Magistrate in the General register for statistical purposes whether as “true”, “intentionally false”, ” mistake of f act”, “mistake of law”, or “noncogni zable” .

The for m shall be written in triplicate ever y final report bei ng gi ven an annual serial number. One copy will be kept at the police -station and filed with the case diaries on receipt of the final memorandum and the other two copies will be sent t o the Circle Inspector, the actual date and hour; of despatch being entered on all the three copies .. The Circle Inspector will attach one copy to his copy of the case diaries and for ward t he other to the Magist rate with his remar ks and r ecommendations . [ See regulation 196 . ]

The final report shall contain a specific application for the release of an arrested person from custody or his di scharg from bond . Bai l and recognisance bonds shall be attached t o the final report .

Magisterial ordersl on final reports .

276 . (a) On receipt of the final report, the Magistratel may accept the police finding and declare the case accordingl y or may, under section 156 (3), Code of Cri minal Procedure reports . order further enquiry on specified points or may take cognizance under section 190(b) of that Code, and, if the persons accused have not already been arrested issue process against them under section 204 of the Code and requi re the investigating officer to fur nish the names and addresses of the witnesses .

When further enquiry is ordered, it shall be entered on and completed as soon as possible . If, on the completion of such enquiry, the investi gating officer considers t he charge proved, he shall submi t a charge -sheet for m; if not, he shall submit a final report in the usual way.

Discharge report .

276A. (a) A discharge report in B . P. For m No . 42A shall be drawn up by the Investi gating Officer in the case of ever y perso n arrest ed and proposed to be discharged for want of1 evidence or for any ot her cause . The report shall contain a: clear statement of the reasons for such discharge . No such report will, however, be necessary for a person whose discharge, or release is recommended in – Final Report under regulation 275(c) or who ha . s been shown as “not sent up for trial” in column 2 of a charge -sheet in B . P. For m No . 39 .

The report shall be written in triplicate with an annual ser ial number. The first two copies will be sent to the Circle Inspector, who will forward the original to the Magist rate with his remar ks and recommendations and attach the second copy to his copy of the case diaries . The third copy will be’ kept at the police -station and filed with the case diari es ore receipt . of the final memorandum .

In the case of persons arrested and released on bail from the police -station, the bail and recognisance bonds sha1l be attached to the original discharge reports . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Revival of investigation. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

277 . (a) If, in any case in which a final report has already been made, any infor mation or clue Is obtained, the i nvesti gation shall be r e -opened and shall be conducted by such off icers as may be detailed to do so by the officer in charge of the station .

When the investi gation of any case is revi ved, the fore – going regulations shall appl y to such further investi gation in ,li ke manner as to the original investigation .

If a revi ved invest igation leads to the collection of evidence sufficient . to j ustify a trial, a charge -sheet shall be drawn up, in accordance with the forgoing regulations . Other wise, a supplementar y final r eport shall be prepar ed and dealt with in the same – manner as an original final report .

Communication of action taken to in formation on completion of investigation.

278 . On completion of the investi gation when a final report in B . P. For m No . 42 is submi tted the investi gating offi cer shall under section 173 (l)(b), Code of Cri minal Procedure, Communicate to the infor mant in B . P. For m No . 43 or 43A, the act ion taken by hi m.

Procedure in false cases . [ $ 12, Act v, 1861 . ]

279 . (a) Whenever a case reported to the pol ice is found after investigation to be maliciously false, the investigating officer shall, if evidence is availab le for prosecution of the com. plain ant under section 182 or 211, Indian Penal Code, submit to the Magistrate, through the Circle Inspector, a for mal Complaint, attached to his final report, to enable the Magistrate to take cognizance of the case under sec tion 190 . Code of Cri minal

Procedure [under proviso (aa) to section 200 of that Code, the Magistrate need not exami ne the complainant] . The investigating officer shall at the same ti me furnish the Court off icer with a brief of the case .

Prosecutions against complainants in false cases shall be instituted only when the charge made are deliberatel y and maliciousl y false and not when they are merel y exaggerated .

The Circle Inspector shall, after satisfyi ng hi mself that the complaint is well founded and that all possible enquiries have been made to collect the requisite evidence, for ward the complaint to the Magi strate .

If a complaint case referred to the police for investigation i s found to be maliciously false, the investi gating officer shall submit , together with the fi nal report, a report t o the Magistrate through the Circle Inspector gi ving the gr ounds on which the case is held to be false and recommendi ng as to whether the complainant should be prosecuted .

Searches . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

280 . (a) The law in regard to searches is contained in Chapter V II and sections 102 and 103, 165 and 166, Code of Cri minal Procedure . These sections must be scrupulously fol1lowed . The officer conducting a search should take precautions to prevent the poss ibility, on the one hand, of any article being introduced into the house without the knowledge of the, inmates, and on the other, of ar iy articles being taken out of the house whil e the search is in progress . Search should be’ made in the presence of the o wner or some one on his behalf . The presence of search wi tnesses [vide clause (h) below] must not be looked upon merel y as a for mality, but they must actually be eye -wi tnesses to the whole search and must be able to see clearly where each article is found . They should then si gn t he search list (B . P. For m No . 44) . If any search witness be illiterate, it should be read over to hi m and his left thumb impression should be taken on it . Where the witnesses do not know English, it should be written in the vernacu lar. The suspected per son whose propert y is seized, should, if presentj at the search, also be asked to si gn the list . Should he refuse, a note will be made to this effect and it should be certified to by the wit nesses . The suspected person, or in his abse nce . the person in charge of the house or place searched, should be! gi ven a copy of the search list . He will be gi ven art opportunit y of comparing it with the or iginal and be asked to sign an acknowledgement f or the copy of the original list . Should he r e fuse . a note to that effect Police Regulations Bengal 1943

should be made and should be certified to by witnesses . In cases where no propert y is sei zed . the search list should be crossed vertically and si gned by the search witnesses and the owner of the house .

Onl y searches for any specific article . which is known or reasonabl y suspected to be in any particular place or in the possession of any particular person, can be made wi thout warrants . General searches without warrant s are illegal and the onlv search which c:an be made without warrant is under section 165 . Code of Cri minal Procedre . There must be some specific thing necessary for purposes of investigation and there must be reasonable gr ound

£ or believing that it is in a particular place and that delay in search is li kel y to in terfere with the recover y of property. The police officer must record in his diary (i ) the ground of his belief and (ii) the thi ng he is looking for, and must as soon as practicable send a copy of such record to the nearest Magistrate empowered to take cog ni zance of the offence [section

(ii ), . Code of Cr iminal Procedure] . No place should be searched without a war rant mereJy because the occupier is a registered bad character or absconding offender. Such a search should be made only under the circumstance s gi ven in sect ion 165, Code of Cri mi nal Procedure, and when t he police officer has reason to believe . that the thing searched for will be found in the place t o be searched . Provided that reasonable suspicion exists and a definite article (or articles) is (or are) searched for, the police are entitled to search the house of an absconding offender. whether he has been proclaimed or not . Police officers should note in their diaries the reasons for search, though they are not obli ged to gi ve the name of the person upon whose infor mation they act . The name, father ‘s name and residence, etc . , of any person producing keys of any locked receptacles or claiming ownership of articles seized should always be noted in the case diar y.

Under section 165(2) of the Co de of Criminal Procedure . the officer in charge of the police -station or the i nvesti gating officer, who must not be below the rank of Sub -Inspector, must if practicable, perform the actual search in person . Onl y when, he is incapacitated from so doing can he depute another officer to make the search and when he does so depute another officer he must first of all record his reasons for doing so and they gi ve wr itten orders to the officer deputed specif ying what the search is for and where it is to be made . A verbal or der gi ven on the spot will not fulfil the requirements of the section .

Before the commencement of the sear ch the person of ever y police officer who is to conduct it, as also that of ever y witness and informer shaJl be exami ned before the wit nesses and the owner of the house or his representat ive .

The law does not require a search under the Code of Cri minal Procedure, to be made by dayli ght, except those: under section 14 of the Opium Act 1878, but there are advantages in searching by dayli ght, and a searching officer should consider whether a house -search should proceed by ni ght or whether dayli ght should be awaited . Matters must be so arranged as to cause as little inconvenience as possible to t he inmates, and especi ally the women . ,

When suspected property is found in a house all thd property in the house is not to be seized . Pronert y seizedi must be either alleged or suspected to have been stolen or found under circumstances which create a suspicion of the commission of an offence, and not hing can j ustify the sei zur e of the whole of a man’s propert y because he is suspected of having stolen some particular article or articles .

The number of wit nesses required to attend a house – search depends on the circumstances of each particular case, and no hard -and -fast rule can be laid down . The witnesses selected should be residents of the same or adj oining villages . If necessary, such residents may be served with an order i n writing to attend and witnees the search .

Care should be t aken that the witnesses are, so far as possibl e, unconnected with any of the parties concerned or with the police, so that they may be regarded as quite independent . Whenever possible, t he presence of the panchayat or headman of the village shall be obtained to witness a search . Under no circumstances should a spy or habitual drunkard or anyone of doubtful character be called as a search witness . Reasons for rej ecting any person as a witness to the search should be noted in the case diar y.

(i ) Whenever it becomes necessar y for a search to be made for ar ms illegally possessed, a warrant must invariably be obtained under section 25 of the Indi an Ar ms Act, 1878 ( XI of 1878) from a Magistrate . Such searches can only be conducted by , or in the presence of , a n Police Regulations Bengal 1943

officer of, or above, t he rank of Sub – Inspector. No police officer is authorized of his own motion to make a sear ch for ar ms illegall y possessed ( v i d e section 30 of the Act) .

(j ) In order to satisf y the court as to the identity of articles a lle:ged to have been discovered at a house -search and to prevent irregularities, the officer conduct ing a search under sections 103 and 165, Code of Cri minal Pr ocedure, shall prepare a list in t riplicate in B . P. For m N’o . 44 of the propert y of which he ha s taken possession and shall forward it to the Court officer by the first available dak after the search t ogether with a report regarding the search . One copy of this list will be sent to the Court officer together with copies of the records prescribed under secti on 165(5) of the Code . One copy of the: list onl y shall be gi ven t o the householder or his r epresentative and the third copy will remain with the investigating officer. On receipt in the Court office, this l ist shall be stamped with the date of rec eipt and the record put up before the Magistrate . Investigating officers are required to note carefully the instructions cont ained in the headings of the for m and are enj oined to conduct searches under such conditions that there may be no room for susp icion on the part of the witnesses that articles have been surreptitiously introduced by them or thei r constables or chauki dars, or anyone whatever under their influence, with a view to their being included in the l ist of property actuall y discovered in t he place under search . Witnesses should be allowed free access to the place being searched and be given ever y facility to see and to hear ever yt hing that transpires .

All articles or weapons found at a house -search or on the person of a prisoner shall be carefully labelled and if a charge – sheet is submitted in the case, shall be sent to the Court officer . The labels shall be signed by the officer conducting the search .

(k) If the warrant is issued in for m No . 8 of Schedule V of the Code of Cri minal Pro cedure, or if the search is made with out a warrant Or on a warrant issued under section 98 of the Code, the police are not authorized to take away anything except the specified thing for which the – search was directed or made, but in all cases in which th e Magistrate proceeds under paragraphs 3 and 4, subsection (1) of section 96 of the Coder of Cri minal Procedure, and directs in his war rant that there should be a general search f ollowed by a more careful inspection at the police -station or some ot her conv enient place, papers and documents and other articles need not be examined and initialled piece by piece in situ . They shoul d be collected and packed in bundles . These bundles or receptacles “should be closed or locked, as the case may be, and must in all cases be sealed or mar ked by the search witnesses and entered in the search lists . For instance, the contents of a desk drawer should be collected, packed together and marked and initialled by the search witnesses . For example, it mi ght be mar ked AA/1 . Any other bundles, packages, papers or documents: si milarly packed up together mi ght be sealed or mar ked AA/2, AA/3, etc . , etc . All these packages may be packed for easy carriage . in a large receptacle which should in this case be mar ked A and should contain all the AA bundles or packages . Subsequentl y these bul ky boxes or packages should be ver y for mall y opened by the search witnesses who sealed or mar ked’ and si gned them during the search, and their contents should be gone over piece by piece, examined, kept or rej ected, but in ever y instance initialled and dated by the search witnesss and the police officer in question . Each of these pieces must bear the initial letters and the serial of its original bundle plus its own serial number in that bundle . Should a ny difficulty be experienced in getting a search witness to examine the documents at the police -station, it will be open to any police officer to call in the assistance of the court to compel the attendance of such search witnesses at the court to open the bundles, boxes, etc . Should he refuse to sign the cont entsl of the bundle, the police officer shoul d, if possible,” invoke the . help of an Honorar y Magistrate or such other officers as may be available .

Searches by State Police in Birtish India and poli ce in Indian British Indian States . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

281 . When the police authorities of an Indian State consider that, in the interest of law and order, a house in British India should be searched, an officer not below the rank of all officer in charge of a police -station should appl y di rect to the officer in charge of the police -station in which the search is, required to be made . The latter should t hen proceed to make the Police Regulations Bengal 1943

search as he would upon a requisition made under section 166(1) of the Code of Cri mi nal Procedure .

Mutatis mutandis, the same procedure should be followed, by the police of British India when it is necessar y to search a house in an Indian State .

The rules relating to arrests under the Indian Extradition Act, 1903, are contained i n Appendix XX .

Indentification of suspects . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

282 . (a) Whenever it is necessar y to submi t a person suspected t o have been concerned in any offence to

identification, the proceedings should be conducted whenever possible in the pre sence of a Magistrate, or of a Sub – Registrar or, if no such officer is availabl e; in the presence of two or more respectable per sons not interested i n the case, who should be asked to satisfy themsel ves that the identification has been conducted under cond i tions precluding collusion . The identificatlon proceedIngs should be undertaken as soon after the arrest of the suspected person or persons as possible, and care should be taken that before the commencement of the proceedings the identi fying witnesses ar e kept in charge of a cour t peon or other person not being a police officer at such distance from the place where the proceedings are held as to have no chance of seeing the suspects . The suspected person should, if possible, be par aded along with 8 or 10 per sons, or, if there are more than one suspect, with as many as 20 or 30 persons, si milarl y dressed and of the same religion and social st atus . Care should be t aken that the mixing up of the suspect or suspects with the other persons does not take place i n view of the police officers and the witnesses . Each identif ying witness should then be brought up singl y in charge of the Magistrate’s orderly or some other person, not being a police officer” to pick out the accused if he is able to do so . The identific ation by such witness should be conducted out of si ght and hearing of other wit nesses . If there is any fear that the identifying witnesses may be subj ected to threats or inj ury, should they become known to the suspect s or to their friends . the witnesses sh oul d be allowed to view the persons paraded from a place where they themsel ves cannot be seen, as for instance thr ough a window or an openi ng in a door or a wall . When the officer conducting the identification has satisfied hi mself; that no communicati on b etween the police and the witnesses . was possible, he should gi ve a certificate to this effect .

A statement in B . P. For m No . 45 shoul d be prepared when suspects are presented for identification, and when the: identification is not held in the presenc e of a Magistrate, the witness should be prepared to testify to the fairness of the manner in which the identification was effected in the pr oper columns .

These regulations apply onl y to instances in which suspects have been arrested and have to be confronted with witnesses who express themsel ves able to recognise them by

appearance, although not previousl y acquai nted with them. When as frequently happens, the complainant or other witness states that amongst his assailants he’ recognised certain perso ns of his acquaintance, either by their appearance or by their voice, his credibility is a matter for the courts and no depart .. mental rules can become applicable .

(d) It should be borne in mind that the pri mary obj ect of identification proceedings is t o test the ability of the wit ness to identify a suspected person and to ascertain whether there is sufficient evidence to place hi m on trial . A Magistrate is chosen merel y as a person whose impartiality and honesty is, less likel y to be called into questio n by the defence when the) case is under trial, and when conducting the proceedings he is not acting in a j udicial capacity (unless the case is under triall before hi m) . It is not his duty, therefore, to record state .. ments or put questions to suspects or witnesses except such as are necessar y for the purpose of identification . While on the one hand the identification should be conducted with complete fairness and impartiality, on the ot her hand no attempt . should be made to conf use or puzzle a witness or to create conditions which would render a witness who is honestly capable of identif ying incapable of doing so . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Test identification shall, whenever circumstances per mit, be held inside the j ail . The above rules are applicable in the case of an under -trial prisoner or a suspect in j ail . Men on bail shall not be mixed up with under -trial prisoners except with the permission of the Magistrate . In the case of confessing accused, separate test identification parade shall be held unless the Magistrate insist s that it is essential to mix confessing with non -confessing accused and hold the test identification parade simultaneousl y. In subdi visional j ails the accused shall, if necessary, be mixed up with outsiders for holding the test identification therein, as ver y few under -trial prisoners of si milar nature and of the same social status are available there for the purpose .

In rioting or other cases the police shall keep the persons arrested during the occurrence district from those arrested, afterwards on suspicion of havi ng taken part in it . Police officers shall use the ut most care to prevent the identity of rioters and other offenders caught in the act from being impugned at the trial . The names of the off enders and of the persons arresting or identifyi ng them shall be recorded as soon as possible in all cases, before the prisoners are removed in custody from the spot; and the place and hour of arrest shall be most accuratel y noted . Offenders caught red -handed shall be kept quite distinct from t hose arrested on suspicion .

When a suspect ref uses to attend a test identification parade no action can be taken in the absence of any evidence other than evidence of identification . When, however, there is other

evidence against a suspect and he refuses to ap pear at a test identification parade he shall be sent for trial on the . strength of such other evidence . During t he trial, evidence of such refusal shall be led in favour of the prosecution . At the ti me of tr ial, the suspect will be in the dock and availab l e for identification by the witnesses . Whenever a suspect refuses to attend a test identification parade, the Magistrate holding the parade shall be requested to make an appropriate note of the fact in B . P. For m No . 45 and, if the suspect is later sent f or trial . the Magistrate shall be examined as a witness to prove the refusal .

Verification to confession.

283 . (a) (i) When an accused or suspected person volunteers a confession ot should be recorded in detail by a police officer who, if it appears to be ture, shall take i mmediate steps for its verification . Such verification should include the tr acing and examination of witnesses named or indicated in the confession and the search for, or the recover y of stolen property or other exhi bits material to the investi gation .

The officer recording the confession shall further arrallge for the confessing person t o be sent to a Magistrate in order that the confession may be j udicially r ecorded .

Anything which savours of oppression or tricker y in obtaini ng a confession must be avoided . The ai m of a police officer should be to obtain circumstantial and oral evidence so convincing that the accused person cannot escape . If he succeeds in obtaining such evi dence,

the confession will often follow and will mat e rially strengthen the case, but to seek to obtain the confession first and the corroborative evidence after wards is to reverse the proper order of proceedings . If, however, a confession is volunteered in an inquiry, ever y effort must be made to ascertain if there is evidence corroborative; of any point in the confession which can be verified . A statement purporting to be a confession will often be made in order to mislead the inquiring officer, and such statements are ver y rarel y true in all narticulars, a nd also are frequently made in . order to throw blame on other persons, or with a view to deter from further inquiry. Also t hey are generall y retr acted in court . in which case, if they stand alone and uncorroborated, t hey have little or no probative value . There is thus ever y reason for testing so -ca1led conf essions ver y carefully and not accepting them as final and conclusive, and stopping the inqui ry..

(i ) Ever y confession which a person in police custody wishes to make should be recorded by the hi ghest Magist ratec short of the District Magistrate who can be reached in a reason able ti me . Confessions can be recorded onl y by Precidency Magi strates, Magistrates of the first class and Magi strates of the second class speciall y empowered by the Provi ncial Government . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Investi gating poli ce officers should not be allowed to be present when a confession is recorded . The Magistrate should satisfy hi mself in ever y reasonable way that the confession

is made voluntarily. It should be made clear the the prison er that the making of a statement or not is within his discretion . Cogini zance of complaints of ill – treat ment by the police should be promptl y taken and any indications of the use of i mproper pressure should be at once investi gated . Confessions should ord inarily be recorded in open court and; during court hours, provided that i f the Magistrate is satisfied, for ‘reasons to be recorded in writing on the for m of confession, that the recording of the confession in open court would be liabl e to defeat the ends of justice the confession may be recorded elsewhere . The i mmediate examination of an accused person directly the police bring him into court should be deprecated, and, when feasible, a few hours for reflection in circumstances in which he cannot be influenced by the police should be gi ven hi m before his statement is recorded .

After a confession which relates to mor e than one case and discloses the activities of a gang of cri minals, has been j udicially recorded, it should be verif ied by a police officer and ordinarily an Inspector should be deputed f or this purposes . Should any particulars not be capable of verification without the presence of the confessing accused, an application should . with the approval of the Superintendent, be made to the District Magistrate to depute a subordinate Magistr ate to verify them wi th his assistance . When such an application is made, a copy of the translation of the confession, together with detaili of the specific points that it has not been found possible to; verify in the absence of the accused, must accompany the application .

The verification should be made with a view to discoverevidence corroborati ve of the facts disclosed in the confession and case di aries should be submit ted showing for each case all the evidence and infor mation available on the points mentioned below: –

Name, father ‘s name, residence, age and personal description of each member of the gang . The route taken by the gang. The chief incidents during the j ourney of the gang from s tart t o finish, i . e . , meeting with

any person, visits to shops or houses for food, oil, li ght, axes, etc . , the hiring of carts, boats or carriages, buying tickets at railway stations, crossing ferries, et c .

The arrival of the gang at the scene of occ urrence and the preliminar y arrangements made, li ghting torches, cutting sticks, etc . The commission of the cri me, rooms entered, doors

broken, persons tied up or assaulted, cries uttered or threats used, boxes taken away, chests broken; open, proper t y taken, etc .

( vi) The di vision of st olen propert y. The breaking -up of the gang and the homeward route taken, etc .

If a confession is made by a convict undergoing i mprisonment it should be j udicially recorded before action is taken on it . Th ereafter if it appears to have been made bonafide and not to i mplicate his enemies or persons who have gi ven evidence against hi m it shoul d be verified as described in clause ( c) above . If a magisterial ver ification of any point s is necessary the Provinci al Government should be moved to suspend the man’s sentence temporarily under section 401, Code of Cri minal Procedure, . as a condition of which . suspension Government will require hi m t o remain under the charge of the subordinate Magistrate whom the Distri ct Magistrate may, select for the purpose .

If the prisoner has been confined in jail in default of finding securit y, the Provicial Government may not suspend his sentence, as he has not been i mprisoned for an offence within; the meaning of section 4 01, Code of Criminal Procedure . In such cases he may be released on bail, if it is forthcoming, or if not, the District Magi strate may cancel the bond under section 125 of that Code . In either case, on release, he should be rearrested and charged with an o ffence under sections 400 or 401, Indian Penal Code, and made over t o the Magistrate in order that his confession may be recorded (if this has not already been done) and verified . if needed .

The obj ect of any magisterial verification will be to verif y specific points in confessions when certain places or persons cannot be discovered without the assistance of the confessing accused . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

(i ) During such verification the Magistrate deputed shall be responsible for the safe custody of the prisoner and shall have sole charge of hi m, but the latter shall on no account be put in a police -station lock -up . No poli ce officer of any rank ahall have access to hi m except with the written per mission of the verif ying Magistrate and in his presence, and a record shall be kept of all such interviews per mitted . Ordinaril y such per mission shoul d not be gi ven to any police officer directly connected with the investi gation .

The prisoner shall be guarded by peons arranged for by the verifying Magistrate, when such arrangements ar e considered sufficient to prevent the escape of or any attack on the prisoner. When the custody of peons is considered insufficient , the verif ying Magistrate

should appl y to the District Magistrate for a guard from the Special Ar med Force, b ut the men of this guard shall be forbidden to hold any communication wi th the investi gating police or to convecrse with the prisoner, the personal wants of the prisoner being attended to by the Magistrate’s peons under the eyes of the guard . (Government o f Bengal Order No . 3571 -P. – D . , dated the 6th Sept ember 1912 . )

Where the use of handcuffs or other bonds is deemed necessary, the provisions of regulation 330 shall be followed .

Procedure to be followed to secure transfer of confessing prisoner fro m one jail to another.

284 . If it is desirable that a prisoner be removed from one j ail to another for the purpose of verif ying his confessi on, the following procedure should be followed: –

(l ) When the two pr isons are In the same province, applicatio n should be made to the Inspector – General of Prisons to direct the transfer under section 29 (2) of the Prisoners Act, 1900 ( III of 1900) .

When the two pr isons are in territories under two different Provincial Governments, application should be ma de to the Provi ncial Government concerned for securing the transfer under section 29(1) of the Act referred to above .

It will also meet the circumstances if proceedings are instituted against the confessing prisoner in the district to which he is to be r emoved and an order is then applied for under section 37 of the Act to the court having Jurisdiction in the . for m set forth in the second schedule of the Act . This procedure should be followed also in the case of all other prisoners, who are accused in the gang case . The removal of prisoners confined beyond the limits of the appellate j urisdiction of the High Court can be effect ed in the manner laid down in section 40 of the Act

Interview with convicts in jails . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

285 . (a) Attention should be paid by Superintendents and police officers generall y t o the ver y i mportant subj ects of obtaining infor mation from cri minals af ter. their conviction . Such infor mation should be received and acted upon with, caution, but it can and should be obtained, and a good po:ice officer should know how to utilise it ..

It should be distinctly understood that the main obj ect of interviewing a convict is not to obtain a confessionl but infor mation . On many occasions an outbreak of cri me has been eventuall y tr aced to new gangs, and, theref ore, when the i vestti gation has established that none of the gangs krown to the police have been concerned in the outbreak, the investigating officer will frequentl y obtain a clue to the gangs concerned from a convicted prison er in j ail whose home is in the affected area . Much useful infor mation can also be obtained from convicts regarding receivers and the whereabouts of stolen propert y.

It may someti mes happen that from the demeanour in court or at j ail parades of a convicted person, the Court officer may consider that such person can be inter viewed with advantage . In such cases it is the dut y of the Court officer to report accordingl y t o the Superintendent .

No police officer shall be per mitted to inter view or. inter rogate any prisoner in confinement in j ail without the; per missi on of the Magistrate of the district, or, i n his Police Regulations Bengal 1943

absence, of the Magistrate in charge, or, if the prisoner be confined in the Presidency Jail, without the per mission of the Commissioner. of Po lice, Calcutta, or of the Inspector -General . The per mission shall be gi ven in the for m of a written order addr essed to the Superintendent of the j ail . The permi ssion shall be obtained through the Superintendent of Police, or in his absence, through the off icer in charge at headquarters . As a rule per mission to inter vi ew a convicted prisoner. i n j ail should not be accorded to an offi cer below the rank of Sub Inspector, and, whenever possible, the inter view should taka place in the -mor ning during the hours when the Civil Surgeon or Superintendent of the j ail is visiting the j ail .

If in the course of an inter view a convict makes a statement which amounts t o a confession, the officer to whom’ the statement is made shall at once infor m the Superintendent of Police who shall either personall y inter view the convict or depute an officer not below the rank of Inspector to r ecord the statement . If the confession is of an important nature i mpli cating a gang of dacoi ts or professional cri mi nals, the Superintendent shall immediately forward a copy of it to the Deputy Inspector – General, Cri minal

Investi gation Depart ment, or in political cases, to the Deput y Inspector -General, Intelligence Branch . The Deput y Inspector -General shall, on receipt of the confession or statement , use his di scretion under regulation 616, whether he will i mmediatel y assume control of the investi gation or leave the case to be dealt with by the local authorities under the control of the Deputy Inspector -General of the Range . Pending receipt of orders from the Deput y Inspector -General, Cri minal Investigation Depart ment or Intelli gence Branch, the Superintendent shall take steps to have the confession recorded by a Magistrate and to fol low up any clues f urnished by the confessing prisoner.

It must be underst ood that the above regulation applies to statements made by convicted prisoners in j ail . The procedure to be followed when a person accused or suspected of a crime volunteers a confession and the method of verification of it have been l aid down in regulation 283 .

Remission of sentence .

286 . (a) When a convict undergoing i mprisonment for a subst antive offence is tendered pardon in another case or when a person on conviction on his own plea of guilt is exami ned as a prosecution witness against the co -accused, it may be desirable, in consideration of the service rendered to the prosecution, to move the Provincial Government to remit or suspend under section 401, Code of Cri minal Procedure . the whole or any portion of the sentence he is undergoing. Such remission or suspension of sentence shall ordinarily be on the conditions noted below and the violation of any of the conditions shall, under clause (3) of section 401 of that Code, . entail the revoking of the or der of suspension and his arr est and commi tment to j ail to undergo the unexpired portion of the sentence: –

(i ) The convict in whose favour the order was passed shall report hi mself at the police – station within whose

he resides at such intervals as may be the Superintendent .

He shall notify his intention to change hi s residence to the officer in charge of the police station one week befor e he changes his residence .

He shall within one week of his arri val at his bew residence report hi mself at the police station .

He shall not associate with known bad characters . He shall not commit any fresh offence .

(vi ) If he intends to absent hi mself tempor arily for one or more ni ghts from his place of residence, he shall notify the fact personally, or through the village ch aukidar, to the officer in . charge of the Police – station or outpost within which he is at the ti me residing, stating the place or places to which he intends t o proceed, and the pr obable dates of his arrival thereat and return ther efrom respecti vel y. Police Regulations Bengal 1943

( b) Applications for the suspension or remission of sentence under section 401, Code of Cri minal Procedure, should be made in B . P. For m No . 46, and should be accompanied by all infor mation necessar y to guide the Provi ncial Government in the exercise of its d iscretion .

The period for which it is intended that t he conditions shall r emain in force shoul d be definitely specified in the application and it must also be stat ed that the prisoner had consented to the i mposition if the conditions .

Proceedings under sections 107 and 145, criminal procedure Code . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

287 . (a) Reports for proceedings to be taken under section 107 or section 145, Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall be submitted in duplicate in B . P. Form No . 36 . One copy showing the result of the case shall be returned dir ect to the station offi cer by the Court officer in lieu of a final memorandum.

In column 4 shall be entered the names of such persons as are considered responsibl e for a likelihood of a breach of the peace and w ho should be bound down . These may include names of agents, ser vants or partisans to the cause of dispute . In a report for proceedings under section 145, Code of Cri minal Procedure, this column shall remain blank.

If a copy of the Magistrate’s order u nder section 145, Code of Cri mi nal Procedur e, is served by the police, it should be ser ved promptl y in the manner laid down by law, and ever y effort should be made to serve it personall y on the parties .

In investigating cases of land disputes likel y to cause a breach of the peace, the one and only point for deter mina tion is to ascertai n which part y is in actual present possessi on of the disputed area . In collecting evidence of possession, the investi gating officer shall examine people holdi ng or cult i vating land in the vicinit y and shall note any remarkabl e feature, such as boundary mar ks, etc . , bearing on the question of possession . It i s not necessary to go into documentary evidence, except so far as it throws light on pr esent possession, e . g . , a ve ry recent ci vil court decree fo1lowed by deliver y of possession or record -of -ri ghts recent ly carried out, etc . , may be examined with advantage .

When the investi gating officer finds one party in possession, he shall ask the Magistrate to take action – against the other under section 107 or section 144, Code of Cri minal Procedure, and if he finds himself unable to collect definite evidence of possession, he shall ask for action under section 145 of that Code . The report shall always contain in addition t o the reasons for apprehendi ng a breach of the peace a summar y of -evi dence, oral or documentary, which throws li ght on present possession .

Proceedings under section 109, Criminal Procedure Code . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

288 . (a) When circumstances arise which j ustify proceedings being taken against a man under section 109, Code of Cri mi nal Procedure, he should be ar rested under section 55 of that Code, and If unable . to furnish bail sent to the Magistrat e . If, however, Immediate drawing up of proceedings is cont emplated, the prisoner should be forwarded to the Magistrate with the necessary witnesses, wi th a request to draw up proceedings at once and to take the necessar y evidence . If f or any exceptional reason further enquiry is considered desirable before drawin g up proceedings ei ther for the purpose of verifying the prisoner ‘s antecedents, collecting further evidence or otherwise, the Magistrate should be moved to grant a remand under section 167 . Code of Cri mi nal Procedur e . In such a case it will ordinarily be sufficient to send copies of the entries in the di ary relating to the case as required by section 167(1) and witnesses need not be sent unless t he Magistrate particularly wishes to examine them.

It should be borne in mi nd that the prisoner can onl y be retained i n custody in default of bail for a total period of 15 days under section 167, Code of Cri minal Procedure, befor e the actual drawing up of proceedings under section 109 . In ease the prisoner is remanded t o j ail Police Regulations Bengal 1943

custody without drawing up any proce edings and without any specific charge section; 109, Code of Cri minal Procedure, should be noted in the j ail warrant . It is to be observed that the circumstances which; j ustify an arrest are identical with those whi ch j ustify proceedings and are described in practically identical terms in section 55 (a) and (b) and section 1 09(a) and of the Code of Crimi nal Procedure .

If the Magistrate declines to grant a remand under section 344, Code of Crimi nal Procedure, in order that the previous histor y of the accused may be ascertained, when the circumstances j ustifying the arrest have been proved and the proceedings drawn up, the Court officer shall t hen move the Magist rate to require the . accused to enter upon his defence, and if the accused fails to gi ve a s atisfactory account of hi mself, to make an order under section 118 of that Code .

Proceedings under section 110, Criminal Procedure Code . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

289 . A Sub – Inspector having for med an opi nion that there exists in any village a habitual thief or a gang of them shall proceed to open a histor y sheet for them as laid down in regulation 401 and shall quietly, without making his obj ect known, make enquiries to ascertain whether in f act the man or men ar e habitual thieves and whether evidence wil l be forth – coming against them. If he believes t hat evidence will be forthcoming he shall report confidentially to the Inspector and the latt er, after taking order s of the Superintendent or Sub – di visional Police Officer, will find out from the Subdi visi on al . Magistrate or other Magistrate who is to take up the case, when he will be able to visit the place to make the enquiry. A fortni ght or so before the date fi xed by the Magistrate for going to the spot , the Sub -Inspector, accompanied by the Inspector, if possible, shall go there, examine witnesses, fill up the prescribed for m, and if evidence is sufficient, arrest under section55 . Code of Cri minal Procedure, the person proceeded against . If he finds that evi dence is not forthcoming ( but this should not often occur if he has made his preliminar y enquiriws carefully) the proceedings will be dropped . The persons arrested shall be sent to the Magistrate, who shoul d be moved by the Court officer to draw up proceedings, to read them over to the accused, and to pass an order as to hail and fix an early date for the hearing of the case . On the date fixed he will go to t he spot and should usually be able to finish the case on the same day.

Evidence in Proceedings under section 110, Crininal Procedure Code . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

290 . (a) In ‘cases under section 110, Code of Cri minal Procedure, evidence of general repute must for m t he main basis of the prosecution . Under section 117( 3) of the Code evidence of general repute is admi ssible to prove that a person is a habitual offender.

The points to bear in mind in connection with evidence of reput e are –

(i ) That the witnesses should themsel ves be of good repute and in a position to know the reputation of the accused,

That they should be drawn, if possible, £ rom different classes of the . communit y and not only from the v’llage of the accused, but also from nei ghbouring vil lages .

That . they should be free from any suspicion of grudge against the accused . In particular, if party faction exists in the vi llage, it . must be made clear that the evidence against the accused is not due to faction .

(vi ) That the witnesses should speak of their own belief and not that of other people, and that their belief carries little or no weight unless it is based on some reasonable ground .

(c) Evidence of general repute may be corroborated by proof of – (i ) Previous convictions . . Want of any known means of li velihood, or manner of li ving in excess of such means . Association of the accused with other bad char acters .

Absence of the accused from his house, especially at ni ght

Occurrence of crimes at or bear the pl ace visited by the accused, coincident with such absence .

Evidence as to habitual or casual association with known cri minals and bad ch aracters is most i mportant, the inference naturally being that the person who so associates is hi mself a Police Regulations Bengal 1943

bad character, and proof of association is necessary to j ustify more persons than one being tried together under section 117 (4) , Code of cri minal Pr oceiure . Equall y i mportant also is the inference to be dr awn from dacoities and other cri mes occurri ng at or near places vi sited by the accused and coincident with such visits . [ Vide section 11( 2) of the Indian Evidence Act . ]

(e)A statement in B . P. From No . 47 shall accompany a report under sections 109 and 110 .Code of Cri minal Procedure .

(f) In the report for proceedings, no more should be stated than it is proposed to endeavour to prove . Before the en – quir y is herd a note shaIJ be prepared for the us e of the Court; officer of the evidence obtainable from records and to be gi ven by each witness; and this evidence shall be gr ouped, so far as cir cumstances per mit, according as it relates to prevalence of cri me, suspicion in particular cases, movements un der sur veillance, association, free li ving without apparent means of livelihood, general repute, or any other facts it is proposed to prove .

In the case of bad -li velihood proceedings against gangs, it is essential that the evi dence should “not onl y be generally arranged in t he manner described i n clause (f ), but it should also be clearly stated and briefed as against each indi vidual accused .

Investigation of cases of collision between inland steam vessels and between inand steam vessels and country b oats . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

291 . (a) When a repor t is made by the mast er of an inland steam – vessel under section 32 of the . Inland Steam -Vessels Act, 1917, to the officer in charge of a police -station –

(i ) such officer shall reduce the report to writing an d shall at the same ti me recor d the statement of the inj ured party (if any) if avai lable;

if the place of occurrence be within the local li mits of any other police -station, such officer shall forth -with infor m the officer in charge of that police – station ;

a copy of the report and of the statement (if any) shall forthwith be submitted t o the Magistrate in charge of cri minal wor k at district headquarters, or, if the place of occurrence be in a subdivision, to the Subdi visional Magistrate; provi ded that in cases of casualties occurring within the l imits of the port of Chittagong, such report shall be submitted to the Port Officer, Chittagong ;

pending the order s of the Magistrate referred to above, no ar rest shall be made by the police, under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure . wit h a view to a prosecut ion for an offence under section 280 of the Indi an Penal Code, but wi tnesses may be exami ned and their names and addresses recorded . so t hat it may be possible toprocure their att endance if it is decided to prosecute ;

if the Magistrate above referred to is of opinion that an investigation under section 33 of the Inland Steam -Vessels Act, 1917, is necessary, he shall submit a report of the case to the Provincial Government;

(vi ) if he considers that no such investi gation is required and that the facts of the case disclose the com mission of an offence punishable under section 280 of the Indian Penal Code, he may direct t he officer in charge of the police -station concerned to take . cogni zance of the offence; and

(vi ) in cases of serious accidents, such as boiler explosions, or where a vessel is badly damaged, or where a doubt arises as to whether from a technical point of view the vessel is

fit to ply, a copy of t he first inf ormation r eport submitted to the Distric Magistrate or the Subdi visional Magistrate concerned shall be furnished to the near est Marine authority, vi z. , the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Depart ment, Calcutta, or the Nautical Sur veyor, Chittagong, acc ording as the place of accident is near Calcutta or Chittagonr.

If the officer in charge of a police -station receives in for mation relating to the commission of an off ence under section 280 of the Indian Penal Code by the master of an, inland steam -vessel, he shall adhere to the f ollowing rules, namel y: -. Police Regulations Bengal 1943

( I) if he has reason to believe, either on infor mation recei ved under clause ( II), or on other ground . that a report has been made by the master of the inland steam – vessel concerned to the officer in charge of some other police – station under section 32 of the . Inland Steam – Vessels Act, 1917, –

(i ) he shall reduce the infor mation to writing and shall take steps to secure the names and addresses of witnesses and to safeguard any property produced ;

he shall also submit a copy of the infor mation forth – with to the Magistrate described in clause (a) (iii ) ;

penning the order s of the above Magist rate he shall not make any arrest under Chapter XIV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, wi th a view to a prosecution for an offence under section 280 of the Indi an Penal Code ;

( II) if he has no reason to believe that such a report has been mare . he shall proceed to investi gate the case under Chapter X IV of the Code of Cr iminal Procedure . ( Bengal Government Notifications No . 1792I.. dated the 16th June . 1912, and No . 3133I. , dated the 14th July 1913 . )

Investigation of cases in which British solders are concerned .

292 . (a) Under the orders of the Central Government (i ) on the occurrence of a serious a ffray between British soldiers and villagers, (ii) in all cases in which there is reason to suspect that an Indian has met his death at the hands of a British soldier, the investi gation shall be conducted at once on the spot by the Superi ntendent, unless t he District Magistrate hi mself investi gates or orders a European Ci vil officer to investigate .

With the assistance of militar y officers, immediate and full enquiry among the sol diers shall be made in such cases . The military authorities are under the absolute obligati on of gi ving i mmediate infor mation to the ci vil authorities and of assisting them in the investi gation . Magistrates of districts shoul d also co -operate with the regi mental officers in conducting investi gati ons in these cases .

The post – mortem examination of an Indi an who is suspected t o have met his death at the hands of a European, shall invariabl y be made by the Ci vil Surgeon, except where this is not possible, owing to the Civil Surgeon being at too great a distance from the scene of the occurrence .

In ever y instance, prompt infor mation of the occurrence shall be sent, where possibl e by telegram, to the Ci vil Surgeon of the district as well as to the District Magistrate and the Superintendent .

Expenses of witnesses and inves tigating officers incurred in the investigation of cases . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

293 . (a) Bills for expenses of witnesses who are not “servants of the Crown for diet money and the cost of travell ing by railway or long distances by boat or road in the inte rests of police investi gations shall be sent to the Superintendent for sanction and payment . Such expenses should onl y be in curred in cases of considerable i mportance .

The bills after being passed by the Superintendent shall be paid from his contrac t contingent grant and t he amount made over to the witness concerned, if he is present, or sent to the Superintendent of the district, or to the officer in charge of the police -station, in which the witness resides, to be paid to the person entitled to the sum. A receipt for the amount paid shall in all cases be taken from the actual payee . .

( c) Superintendents, when passing these bills, shall see that police officers have not neg1ected their dut y of themsel ves’ going to the scene of the crime and interr ogating the witnesses there . The true obj ect of the rule is to provide for those i mportant cases in connection with which the witnesses have to be brought from other districts to identify Police Regulations Bengal 1943

accused persons or to describe on the spot t he progress of events co nnected with the cri me .The bills should be passed and cashed with an possible promptitude .

All charges incurred by police escorts on account of travel ling and diet expenses of witnesses arrested under warrants issued by criminal courts under section 92 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure shall be recovered from the . courts .

All legiti mate expenditure of investi gati ng officers, as well as all necessary expendi ture incurred in the investi gationj of cases which cannot, under the exi sting rules, be pa id fr om’ other sources or recovered from the courts, shall be paid by the Superintendent from the contract contingent gr ant, and: shall be recorded under a detailed head “Police investi gation, charges . “

Note . -Clause (6) of the rule covers expenses such as –

travelling and diet expenses of witnesses attending police enqui ries, who are not required to appear before the court ; subsistence allowance or travelling expenses of infor mers and approvers ;

diet expenses of chaukidars and dafadars c alled in from distant beats to help in the investi gation of cases; and

(iv) hire of conveyances for bringing i mportant personages to the scene of occurrence to help in investi gation .

Despatch of papers to the Examiner of Questioned Documents .

294 . Instructions for the guidance of police officers ill sending documents for examinat Ion by the Governmenti Examinet of Questioned Documents and requi ring his attendance in law courts are laid down i n Appendix XV II.

Utilization of Criminal Intelligence Bureau. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

295 . (a) The ser vices of the Cri minal Intelligence Bureau of the Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment shall be utilised as far as possible for obtaining infor mation regarding particular classes of cri me and criminals . Ever y invest ig ating officer shall carefully study and observe the rules on the subj ect contained in chapter IX .

In ever y case in which a reference is made to the’ Cri minal Intelligence Bureau, no matter whether such r eference has proved successful or otherwise, a f urther or final r eport shall be submitted showing briefl y the result of the case, td enable the officer in charge of the bureau to make necessary additions or corrections to his recor ds .

Beside referring t o the Cri minal Intelligence Bureau for infor ma tion all officers should also bear in mind the necessity for fur nishing infor mation for record, and after the disposal of any case of the ki nd referred to in the first paragraph of clause (a) of regulation 633 a note of tlie case with details . of the modus operandi and of the person accused or suspected, should be sent by the investi gating officer t o the officer in charge of the bureau for record . See also regulation 189(t ).

Note . -For infor mation regarding excise and opium smugglers, application should be made direct to the Superintendent, Excise Intel ligeno . Bureau, Bengal, who will suppl y any infor mation available .

Utilization of photographic Bureau and intensification of finger prints . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

296 . (a) The ser vices of the Photographic Bu reau of the Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment shall be untili zed as far as possible for the examination of finger mar ks left behind by criminals in the act committing offeces . The expert in the visible to the ordinar y ovser ver, and to examine them with a v iew to establishing their indenti ty or otherwise with the impression of suspected persons .

(b) Ever y investi gating officer shall obser ve the following instruct ions: – Police Regulations Bengal 1943

(i ) Finger mar ks should invariabl y be looked for on glass, mental, polished wood, or lac quer wor k. Torches abandoned by dacoits shoul d always be carefull y examined, as good finger impressions are not i nfrequently found on the charred surface of the torch; upon bottle torches such i mpressi ons are usuall y ver y clear . The fact that glass for ms the best medium for finger i mpressions is of importance also in cases in which prostitutes are drugged for the purpose of robber y , t he liquor being usually admi nistered in an ordinary tumbler or bottle . In burglar y cases finger impressions are oft en to be found on the bamboo matting near the point of entr y, or on door posts, and the portion on which the f inger i mpression is f ound should be carefully cut out and forwarded for examination . In cases of murder i mmediate search be made for blood stained fing er i mpressions . All investi gating officers are supplice with a magnif ying glass, which they should invariable carr y with t hem on investi gations .

Finger mar ks on glass, polised wood, metal and lacquer work may be intensified by sprinkling the surface with a small quantity of a powder, known to chemists as ― Gray powder‖ which should then be gentl y shaken or brushed off with a camel hair brush . Should the substances be white in colour, such as paper, wood , etc . , ― Graphite‖ may be used instead of ― Gr ay powder‖ . This treatment has the effect of making visible i mpressions which cannot be seen with the naked eye . Articles which may have been handled by cri mi nals shound al ways be treated in this way, if possible . These powders may be obtained from Bathgate & Co . , Calcutta . Steps should be t aken by the Superintendents to suppl y all police stations with phials of ― Gray powder‖ and ― Graphite‖, the expenditure being met from the contract grant . Isapecting officers are repuired to see that their officers und erstand and follow these instructions .

Obj ects appearing to bear i mpressions should be for warded to the Cri minal Investi gation Depart ment for opinion . Great care should be taken not to make other finger impressions on any such article forwarded . It should not be handled unless absolut ely necessary, when somt hing with a smooth surface should be slipped underneath . The article should be carefully lifted into the box in which it is to be packed, and nothing with a rough surface should be al lowed to come into contact with the portion bearing the finger impression . particular care should be taken in following these instructions in for war ding tumblers in poisoning and drugging cases .

In i mportant cases, or when exhibits are ver y heavy or large, they may be sent down by special messenger. Or dinarily the package should be sealed and sent by registered post to the Assistant to the Deputy Inspector -General, Cri minal Investi gat ion Depart ment . A l abel

should be attached to each article, gi ving t he name of t he police -station, name of district,and the name of the officer forwarding the package, and ever y care should be taken that theidentity of the exhibit can be proved, as in the case of articles sent to the ChemicalExaminer.

When i mpressions are lef t on articles like safes or on walls, a telegram shoul d be despatched to the Crimi nal Investigation Depart ment asking for the services of an expert to intensify the i mpressi on, care being taken i n the meanti me to prot ect it .

Note . -Regarding the Submissio n of the finger prints of deceased persons see regulation 313 .

Requisition for expert opinion and dispatch of and despatch of exhibit to the Chemical Examiner and other experts .

297 . Instructions for the guidance of pol ice officers in making requisition s for expert opinion and in sending exhibits for examination in connection wit h the investigation of casea are gi ven in Appendix XVIII.

Direct corres correspondence with the police of Orissa, Cooch Behar, Trupura and Jaipur states . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

298 . With a view to facilitate enquiries and avoid delays officers i n charge of police -stat ions in British districts shall send, the following communications dir ect to police -statians in the Indian States of Coach Behar, Tripura and Or issa : – (i ) Enquiry slips .

Hue -and -cr y slips .

Verification rolls . Applications for certified copies of previous convictions .

Correspondence in matters relating to conviction rolls of accused persons and police enquiries regarding suspicious and bad characters should be add ressed by Superintendents direct to the Superintendent of Police of the various districts of the Jaipur State in Raj putna . The Superintendents of Police of Jaipur will si milarl y address such correspondence direct to the Superintendent concerned in this Pro vince .

Delays in receiving replies, if of an exceptional nature, should be reported to the Inspector – General .

– UNNATURAL DEATHS AND INJURIES.

Inquiries into unnatural and suspicious deaths . First information to be submitted. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

299 . (a) Immediatel y after receipt of infor mation of a death occurring in any. of the circumstances mentioned in sec tion 174, Code of Cri mmal Procedure, a Fust Infor mation For m shall be submitted in B . P. For m N’o . 48 . The infor mation shall to be reco rded in the same manner as a first infor mation in the case of cogni zable cri me .

(b) A Sub Inspector, Assistant Sub Inspect or or head constable shall then proceed to the place where the body of the deceased person is and after making the investi gation pre scribed in section 174, Code of Cri minal Procedure, and maki ng such further enquiry as may be necessary shall submit his final report to the nearest magistrate empowered to hold inquests . The investi gation report, signed by the police officer and two or m ore respectable persons, as required by section 174 of that Code shall be attached to the final report . ( See regulation 300 . )

Case diaries shall be submitted in enquiries into unnatural or suspicious deaths onl y if the enquiry lasts mor e thanl one d ay. But if the police officer making the enquir y finds reason to suspect the commission of a cognizable offence, the enquiry becomes one under section 157, Code of Cri minal Procedure and case diaries shall be submitted .

Where several per sons meet the ir death by the same accident , there shall be a separate report on each body, but not necessaril y a separate first informati on or final report .

One copy of the first information report and final report shall be kept at the pol ice – station . The number of the corresponding entry in the death register and register of per sons killed by wild ani mals shall be noted at the top .

The following pr ocedure shall be observed in connection with deaths occurring in hospitals situated in Calcutta from inj uries s ustained within the j urisdiction of the Bengal Police: –

In all cases where a person seriously inj ured is sent from a mufassil police -station t o a hospital in the town or suburbs of Calcutta, a note showing brief facts of the case together with’ names and addr esses of witnesses who will prove facts in connection with the inj ury should be sent by the Bengal police – stat ion concerned to the officer in charge of the Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Calcutta Police – secti on where the hospital is situated . Further, a relation of the inj ured ma n or a constable of the Bengal Police -station concerned should stay in the hospital or in the neighbourhood in order to indentify the body at the ti me of p o s t – mortem in case of death .

The investi gation shal l be held by the officer in charge of the Calcutt a Police section, before whom the officer in charge of the Bengal Police station concerned shall produce all available evidence to enable . hi m to arri ve at a definite conclusion reearding the cause of death .

Powers of Assistant Sub Inspectors and junior Sub Inspectors under section 174(1), Criminal Procedure Code, and duties of constables left in charge .

300 . (a) Assistant Sub Inspectors and j unior Sub Inspectors subordinate to an officer in charge of a police station are empowered to Act under section 174 (i) of the Code of cri minal Procedurel . Assistant Sub Inspectors, however, shall not be so employed when a Sub Inspector is available, nor shall they make enquiries in any case i n which the infor mati on or the circumstances indi cate the possibility of t he death being the result of foul play.

A constable cannot make an enquir y ; but when no other officer is preset at the station, the senior constable shall proceed to the spot, take charge of the body, note its atate and make all arrangement s for it s dispatch, in case the enquiring officer desires to send i t for examination .

Inquiries into unnatural or suspicious deaths by presidents or selected members of panchayats or by presidents or members of union boards and Forest officers .

301 . (a) When a president or a selected member of a Panchayet or the president or vice president or a select ed member of a uni on board, who is authorized by the Dist rict Magistrate to enquire into the circumstances of unnatural deaths in which there i s no suspicion of suicide or foul play, makes such an enpuir y, he shall forward a report si gned by two relatives of the deceased, or if there ar er none available, by two respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood to the officer in charge of the police station ( within the limit s of which the death occurred ) who shall for ward the report to the Court officer through the Circle Inspector unless there is any obvious error or irregularit y i n the report in which case he will record the fir st infor mation and ret urn the report to the sender for correction . On receipt of such report, the officer in charge of the police station chall not proceed to the spot or hold an enquir y, unless he has reason to suspect the occurrence of suicide or foul play .

Si milar enquiries subj ect to the same conditions as prescribed above may be made within their respective j urisdictions in forest areas ( except of the Darj eeling di vision) , where t here is no chaukidari union or union board, by Subdi visional Forest officers or Range offi cers who may be authorised by the District Officer for the purpose .

Death of European officer or soldier.

302 . (a) A police officer empowered to hold enquiries, who receives infor mation that a European soldier or officer of the Ar my has committed suicide, or has been killed, or has died in the circumstances mentioned in section 174(1) of the Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall not proceed to t he spot, but shall confine his action to sendi ng an i mmediatc repor t 10 the nearest Magistrate empowered to hold inquests .

Death of a prisoner in police custody.

When a person died in the custody of the police, the officer empowered to hold enquiries, who recei ves notice of his death, shall send infor mati on at once to the nearest Magistrate, but he . shall not refrain from comm encing an inquir y under section 174 of that Code hi mself . Infor mation shall also be gi ven by telegram, if possible, to the Superintendent and . if not, by the quickest means of communication available .

Directions for investigation on cases of suspicious a nd unnatural deaths . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ] Police Regulations Bengal 1943

3 0 3 . In investi gating unnatural and suspici ous deaths, the directions in Appendix X IX shall be obser ved by the police with a view t o obtaining as much medico legal evi dence as possible . The instruct ions contained in’ , A Guide to Medical Jurisprudence” by Col . R . N . Campbell C . B . , CI. E . , shall also be followed according to the requi rements of each case .

Corpses sent for post mortem examination . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

304 . (a) When a corpse is sent in for post – mortem examination, it shall be accompanied by a copy of the surat hal report and a chalan in duplicate in B . P. For m No . 49 one copy of examination . which shall be addressed to the Court officer who shall for ward it t o the Superintendent and the other copy to t he medical officer holding the post – mortem examination . All corpses shall be sent to the headquarters of the district, unless the medical officer at the subdi vision has been authorised by the Provincial Government to conduct post – mortem examinations . pos t -mortem exami nation shall, as usual, be done in cases of infectious diseases, e . g. , tetanus, plague, smallpox, etc . , whenever required by the police .

The chalan shall contain the date and hour of the actual despatch of the corpse, an accurate description of if, a statement of the apparent cause of death, the circumstances, if any, which gi ve rise to any suspicion of foul play and an . accurate list of clothes and art icles sent in with the corpse . ,

Wh . en sending a corpse for post – mortem examination, 2 suff icient quantity of powered charcoal . shall be placed next to it and a sheet wound round it, and in ail cases wherever a charpoy can be obtained, the corpse shall be carried upon it and shall not be slung on a bamboo;

Duties of constable in charg e . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

305 . (a) The corpse shall be sent in charge of a trustworthy const able whose name, together with those of the bear ers and other accompanying it, shall be recor ded in the chalan .

The constable shall be gi ven a command certifi cate, on which the date and hour of his arrival shall be noted by lhe medical officer .

A constable . in charge of a corpse shall be gi ven strict orders not to loiter on the road but to take it by the nearest route direct to the dead -house .

After leaving the body at the dead -house, he shall i mmedi ately deliver the surat hal report and one copy of the chalan to the Ci vi l Surgeon (at headquar ters) or Assistant or Sub – Assistant Surgeon (at subdivisions) .. He sha1l obtain on the second copy of the ch alan the medical officer ‘s endorsement of the date and hour of his arrival and deli ver it . to the Court officer, who shall forward it immediatel y to the Superintendent or Subdi visional Potice officer, as the case may be .

Post mortem examination and repor t .

306 . (a) On completing the post – mortem examination the medical . officer shal I fill up the whole of the B . P. For m No . 50 in triplicate by the pen -carbon process . One of the carbon copies shall be sent to the investi gating officer through the constable w ho brought in the corpse . The ori ginal r eport with the chalan for m and surat hal shall be forwarded to the Superintendent, direct, or in the case of a subordinate medical officer despatched to the Superintendent, through the Ci vil Surgeon of his remar ks . T he Superintendent shall then forward the report to t he Court officer to lay before the Magistrate conerned . The register . of post – mortem examinati ons shall be kept by the medical officer .

Police officers shall refer to the Ci vil Surgeon if they have any doubt in regard t o any part of the medical report .

Presence of Police officer at post mortem examination . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

3 0 7 (a) The police officer sent in charge of a corpse need police officer at not be pr esent throughout the details of the post – morterm examination . It will suffice if he stands Police Regulations Bengal 1943

sufficiently near to be exami nation . able t o testify that the body which had been in his charge was . the one examined by the medical officer. He should be present

at the court when the medical officer ‘s testimony as to the result of the examination is gi ven, in order that the indentity of the body exami ned, with the body to which the cri mina! case relates, may be established, if necessar y.

When possible, investi gating police offi cers should encou raged to attend the post – mortem examination .

When a Magistrate in session of a case considers, for reasons to be recorded in wri ting, the presence of another medical practioner to be essential in the interest of j ustice, one or more medical practitio ners to be selected by the Magistrate, may be allowed to be present as witnesses at an autopsy or other medicolegal examination, conduct ed by a medical officer in the service of the Crown in connection with the case .

Expenses of for warding corpses .

308 . Expenses incurred in transmitting cor pses or wounded or sick persons to the medical officer for examination or treat – ment in al l cases, railway included, shall be met by the Magistrates, and not f rom the police budget . In railway cases the bills shall be sent to the Magistrate through the Court officer and the latter shall see that the bills are passed and paid without unnecessar y delay.

Carriage of dead bodies by railway to post mortem centres without prepayment of fees .

309 . On the East Indi an, Benga l -Nagpur and Bengal and bodies by railway Assam Rai lway accommodation for the carriage of dead bodies to post -mortem t o post – mortem centres is provided, without prepayment of fees on r equisition to the station -master of the nearest railway station by an officer not below the r an of an officer in charge of a police station or, in his absence, by the senior police officer present at the police station .

The freight of a dead body shall be paid lat er by the District Magistrate on receipt of a bill from the station -mast er from whose station the body was despatched . The requisition to the station -master should be made in B . P. For m No . 51 which off icers in charge of police stations should keep i n stock for use when occasion arises .

Disposal of dead bodies .

310 . The final disposal of the body rests with the Magistrate or the municipal authorities, according to local arr angements charges incurred by the police for the disposal of bodi es of persons who have died within rail way li mi ts and are not clai med by their friends, shal l be paid for by the Magist rate from his district budget .

Post mortem and clinical examinations on animals . 1861 .

311 . (a) When an ani mal has died or has been inj ured and the commission of a cogni zable offence is suspected a Magistrate or a police officer not below the rank of Sub -Inspect or or an Assistant Sub – Inspector if he is an officer in charge of a police station, is authorised to require a veterinar y assistant, where such an officer is available, to perfor m a post – mortem or clinical examinati on . When the circumstances of the case require it, the veteri nary assistant will also superintend the removal and despatch to the Chemical Examiner of the viscera of the ani mal, ‘ and the expenditur e incurred on that account sha1l be met by the Magistrate out of his contingent grant . (Vide rule 64 of the Bengal Veterinary Manual . )

NOTE -Regarding the fees payable to veterinary. assistants for such examinations . which are payable by the Magist rate, see rule 65 of the Bengal Veterinary Manual .

In places where there is no veterinar y assistant, or when that officer is absent on tour or otherwise not availabl e, the Ci vil Surgeon shall perfor m the post – mortem examination and Police Regulations Bengal 1943

shall, when necessar y, superintend the removal and despatch of the viscera to the Chemical Examiner.

Medical Examination of wounded persons . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

312 . (a) When a wounded person is sent in for medical Medical Examiexamination, a report in Bengal For m No . 3865 shall be sent to the medical officer.

The rules rel ating to duplicate chalans and sending inti mation to the Superintendent, the Civil Surgeon, and the station police, in post – mortem cases, shall be obser ved in cases of wound or inj ury –

Medical officers’ reports in B . P. For m No . 50 andi Bengal For m No . 3865 need not be attached to the final for m, or for m part of the Magistrate’s record of the case, as such; reports are not legal evidence .

Wounded persons brought into a station by the police; but not charged with any off ence shall be sent, unless the y obj ect, to the nearest . charitable hospital or dispensar y, sub divisional hospital or headquarters hospital, as the case may be, and the expenses incurred in sending them there shall be met by the Magistrate . Those brought in police custody and charged with an offence, shall be treated in the j ail hospital, unless they are released on bail, in which case they may be sent to the charitable hospital onl y by order of the Magistrate .

(e) In serious cases police -station officers shall send wounded persons, no t required to’ be kept in custody, without any delay, direct to the nearest charitable hospital with indoor accommodation for fir st aid . Such cases can sub – sequentl y be removed for treat ment t o the hospital at subdivisional headquarters, where all cases w hich are not of a serious nature shall be taken for treat ment from the beginning (for expenses see regulation 308) .

If a wounded person in a medico -legal case declines to go to hospital or is too ill to be removed to hospital the police shall requisiti on the ser vices of the nearest medical officer in the service of the Crown for the purpose of obtaining a medico -legal certificate .

If no medical officer in the service of the Crown is available, ei ther the doctor of a Local Fund Dispensar y or a pri vate regi stered medical practitioner may be called in to make the examination for the purposes of a medico -legal certificate and paid a fee not exceeding Rs . 4 from the contract contingent grant of the Superintendent concerned .

(f ) If a case of wound or inj ury is a dangerous one the investigating officer shall take immediate measures t o have the inj ured man’s statement recorded by a Magistrate . (See regulation 266 . )

The consent of an inj ured person is – necessary to his removal t o hospital . On no account s hall women be subj ected to medical examination without their consent .

Subnmission of finger prints of unidentified dead bodies for search. ( $ 12, Act V, 1861 . )

313 . (a) Where the identity of a corpse, or of a person killed by accident or who met with death under suspicious circumstances or in the act of committing dacoities, burglaries or other offences has not been full y ascertained by ordianar y inquiri es, the finger prints should be taken on finger print slip for m ( B . P. From No 52) and sent to t he Fin ger Print Bureau for search together with a search reference slip ( B . P. From No . 53) .

Ordinaril y there is not much difficult y in taking i mpressions from the fingers of a corpse, but it someti mes happens that the skin of the fingers is so contracted a nd wrinkled that decipherable prints cannot be obtained . In such cases the medical officer holding the post – mortem should be asked to remove the ski n from the fingers . The pieces of skin from the ten digits should then be carefully enclosed i n separate num bered envelopes and sent t o the bureau for exami nation .

The finger prints of unidentified bodies should invariabl y be taken under the super vision of an officer not below the rank of a Sub – Inspector. finger prints of all digits must be t aken, even if i t is necessar y to remove the skin of the fingers; and the super vising officer will certify by his si gnatur c on the search slip that the i mpressions have been correctly taken in his presence . The supervising officer will further notc ill the remar ks column of the search slip the condition of t hesbody, wnether in an advanced stage of decomposition or other wise . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The transmission of finger i mpressions of unidentified prisoners does not dispense with the necessit y of the l ocal enquir y as to the identity of prisoners ordered in regulations 454 and 458 .

In all cases of murder or suspicious death, where an exami nation of the surroundings discloses, or may possibly subsequently di sclose, anything in t he shape of finger marks, blurred or otherwise, on an y article which mi ght reasonabl y; be expected to have been touched by the victi m, the finger ‘ prints of the deceased shall invariabl y be taken for purposes of comparison with the finger i mpr essions found on such article (picked up at the scene of the murde r) .

Finger i mpressions of deceased persons shall invariabl y be taken, as quickl y as possible after the arrival of the investigating officer at the spot as owing to decomposition which is rapid in India, delay mi ght r ender the taking of distinct impressio ns i mpossible .

Note . -Duplicate finger -print slip shall be taken and submitted to the finger print Bureau for search if it is found t hat for unavoidable reasons and after exerci sing all possible care the impressions of the subj ect remain blurred and indist inct .

Photographing unidentified corpses . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

314 . (a) In addition to taking the finger i mpressions of Photographing unidentified Cor pses, as laid down in regulation 493, such uni dentified corpses shall, whenever possible, be photographed with a view corpses .

to tracing their identit y. Such photographs shall, whenever possible, be of half -plate si ze .

If a competent photographer cannot be arranged for locally, a photographer wi ll be deputed from the Crimi nal; Investi gation Depart m ent on receipt of a requisition by wi re . To save ti me, such requi sitions may be sent f rom police -, station officers direct, but a wise discretion shall be exercised arid they shall be sent onl y when the corpse is identifiable and there is reason to believe that the photographer will arri ve before the corpse is unrecogni zable owing to decomposition .

When it is necessary to photograph an unidentified corpse, the whole body shoul d be

included in the photo, the corpse being pl aced in such position that al l scars and similar mar ks of identification are clearl y visible . This is especially i mportant in cases wher e the features are in any way disfigured . Distinguishing mar ks on the body are much surer means of identification than articles of clothing, and, as they disappear with the corpse, a full and accurate record of them is necessar y.

Whenever an unidentified corpse is photographed, particualrs of the subj ect, as far as they are known, shall be clearly written on the -back of the photo . [See regulations 638 and 639 . ]

– ARRESTS, CUSTODY AND ESCORT.

Service of warrants [ $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

315 (a) Wrrants directed to an officer in charge of a police -station for execution under section 77, Code of Cr iminal Procedure, shall be addressed to him ei ther by name or by title

of his office . Section 79 of the Code prescri bes that all subsequent endorsements shall be by name . If, therefore, the officer to whom t he warrant is addressed desires to entrust the execution of the warrant to some other police of ficer, the endorsement shall be by name . His authority to endorse shall be made clear by addition of the words “officer in charge” aft er his signature . An officer below the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspector, unavoidabl y left in charge of the police -station, has no power to endorse a warrant . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The officer entrust ed with the ser vice of a warrant shall be infor med of the date on which he is required to return and on his return, the warrant, if it has been executed, ‘shall be returned to the Court officer, with a report endorsed on its back by the officer in charge of the po1ice – station, st ating how and by whom it has been ser ved .

Warrants endorsed for bail (see section 76, Code of Cri minal . Procedure) shall, whenever possible, be executed by a police officer who can read and write . Bail bonds taken shall be returned with the warrants .

Warrants issued against railway ser vant s shall be entrusted to some police officer of a superior grade, who, shall, unless immediate execution is necessary, commun icate wit h the Railway Police . For instructions regarding the arrest of railway ser vants see regulation 593 .

Arrest without warrant . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

316 . (a) The powers of arrest without warrant possesed by police officers are laid down in section 54, 55, 57(1) , 128, 151 and 401(3), Code of Cri minal Procedure . A telegram may be considered to furnish credible information of a person having been concerned in a cogni zable offence . “Cogni zable offence”

is defined in section 4(f), Code of Cri minal Proc edure ..

An officer in charge of a police -station has no legal power t o summon before hi m any person accused of an offence . The onl y manner in which he can enforce the attendance of such person before him is by arrest, and wi thout an arrest the attend anceo or detention of an accused person cannot, under any circumstances, be compelled . It is, therefore, t o be understood that, whenever an accused per son is sent ‘ for and made to attend befor e an investi gating officer, he is to be considered as having bee n arrest ed, and to be entered in the return accordingl y. The manner in which arrest is to be made is described in sections 46 to 48 and section 53, Code of Cri minal Procedure . No person who has been arrested may be discharged except on bail, or on his own recogni zance, or under the special orders of a Magistrate . (See secti on 63 of the Code . }

“Police custody” i ncludes custody on the authorit y of the pol ice ; ever y person who is kept in attendance to answer a charge in such a way that he is practically depri ved of his freedom shall be considered as in cusody. A police officer who, without hi mself arresting a person, directs some of the nei ghbours to take charge of hi m, shall be responsible in the same way as if he had made the arrest hi mself . Requiring a person’s attendance by letter and deputing a constable t o accompany hi m with orders to prevent hi m from speaking to anyone amounts to an arrest .

The attention of al l officers is drawn to section 25 of the Cri mi nal Tribes Act, 1924 (V I of 1924) , . whi ch provi des for the arrest without warrant of a regist ered member of a cri minal

tribe, whose movements have been restricted or who, has escaped from a Settlement or School, if found in a place, beyond the area prescribed for his resi dence, and for the remo val of such member for his prosecution under section 22(11) of the said Act, to the district in which he should reside or to the Settlement or School from which he escaped .

Unnecessary arrest to be avoided and bail to be allowed freely. [ $ 12, Act V, 186 1 . ]

317 . The police shall be careful to abstain from unnecesar y arrest s . In pett y cases it is hardly ever necessar y to arrest on suspicuion during the courseof an enqulry, and never necessary to arrest after the enquir y is over, when the case is not to b e sent up . In heinous cases it is different . police officers should not hesitate to arrest on suspicion . Having made the ar rest they shall send the accused to the nearest Magistrate in the manner laid down in regulation 324 or else release hi m on bail .

Arrest of persons employed in public uintility services . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

3 1 8 . When the i mmediate arrest of persons employed in a . public utility ser vice (such . as the relegraph or Postal service) would r:ause risk and mconvemence to the public, sarvices . the investigat ing officer shall make arrangements to prevent; escape and appl y to the pr oper quarters to have the accused relieved . In cases where i mmediate arrest call be made, without risk or inconvenience to the public, notice of the arrest shall at once be sent to t he official superior of the accused to enable hi m to arrange for his duties .

Arrest or surrender of Army deserter. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

319 Whenever anyone subj ect to Indian Art icles of War is arrested, notice shall be given forthwith by the police to the officer commanding the troops to which he belongs .

Arrest or surrender of Army deserter. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

320 . An Ar my desert er shall on arrest or surrender be taken to the nearest police -st ation where the officer in charge shall make out a cer tificate in B . P. For m No . 54, specif ying the date and place of arrest or surrender. This certificate must be signed by the officer in charge who shall record bel ow his si gnature the words “officer in charge” and the name of the police -station, and shall be sent without delay to the officer commanding the unit to which the deserter belongs . The deserter shall then be taken, (i ) if a deserter from the British Ar my, to the nearest Justice of the Peace (cf . Secs . 22 and 25, Code of Criminal Procedure) ; (i i) if a deserter from the Indian Ar my, to the nearest Magistrate, either of whom shall prepare a descriptive return and make a summar y enquiry preli minar y to handing hi m over t o the militar y’ authorit y.

Illness of person arrested. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

321 . (a) When a person arrested has to be kept in custody, and i s in such a state of health that he cannot be removed without serious risk to hi mself or others, the officer making the arrest shall make suitable arrangements for procuring medical aid f or hi m.

When it is necessary to provide medical aid for a” prisoner the nearest medical -officer in the service of the Crown should be called if he is within reasonable distance ; but when no medical officer in the service of the Crown i s within reasonable dis tance the nearest private medical practitioner should be employed, and his services paid f or. The officer in charge of the police -station shall submit a bill fol1″ payment through t he . Superintendent to the District Magistrate, who will meet the charge fro m his contingenci es .

Properly of arrested persons taken charge of by police . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

322 . When persons ar e searched under sect ion 51, Code’ of Crimi nal Procedure, and the . police take charge of articles, a receipt shall be granted to the . p risoners . A list of the property shall be attached to the charge -sheet form or to the case diary or the final report of the case . When such property is sent to the court, fun infor mation concerning it shall be gi ven to enable the Court officer to fill in t he malkhancr register.

Action in cases of failure to arrest .

323 . (a) A warrant of arrest of an accused person remains in force, and shall be retained at a police -station, . till the arrest is made or t he indi vidual surrenders, or til l the warrant is for mally cancelled or withdrawn by the court which issued it .

When a police offi cer to whom a warrant has beem entrusted f or execution, fails to find the accused person, and has reason to believe that he has absconded or is concealing hi mself, and the warrant cannot be executed . he shall submit a report in writing, stating clearl y the reason for such belief .

He shall also, in al l except pett y cases, make a list of the property movable or i mmovable belonging to the absconder, and a fter obtaini ng the si gnature of the panchayat or president of the union board or of some other respectabl e: witness on the list, shall send it with a warrant report from (B . P. For m No . 55), to the Magi strate . In the case of persons who are absconding Police Regulations Bengal 1943

at the ti me of submission of a, charge sheet this list shall be submitted together with the:charge sheet so that an order of attachment may issue i mmediatel y.

A Magistrate issui ng a warrant is requir ed to fix a date by which the warrant is to be executed, or failure to execute reported . If it is not possible to return the warrant duly executed to the issuing court by the date fixed in the warrant . the officer in charge of the police -station to whom the warrant has been addressed or endorsed, shall submit, so as to reach the issuing cour t not later than the morning of the date fixed, a report in B . P. For m No . 55 stating tha reason why the warrant has not been executed . If the accused is

absconding, he shall also send with his report the original report, ref erred to in clause

above , of the officer to whom the warrant was made over for service, together with; the list of property belonging to the absconder. It will then, rest with the Court officer to apply for proclamation and attachment, if necessar y.

The officer to whom the execution of t he warrant was entrusted, shall, if necessary, be sent with the report r eferred to in clause (d) above, so that his statement can be recorded

with a view to taking proceedings under section 87, Code of Cri mi nal Proce dure .

(f ) An unexpected warrant for the arrest of a witness in For m No . V II, Schedule V, Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall be returned to the Magistrate on the dat e fixed therein, so that he may take any further steps he may think advi sable .

Unexecuted warrants for the arrest of accused persons shall be kept in a file until they are arrested or the war rants are cancelled or withdrawn .

A register of warr ants of arrest shall be maintained at each police -station in B . P. For m No . 56 .

323A. (a) A register, in B . P. For m No . 56A, of all persons arr ested shall be kept at each police -station, in order to enable the thana officers and their superiors to see in a convenien t for m the action taking about the person arr ested .

Columns 1 to 4 of the For m shall be f illed up as soon as a person is brought to the police -station under arrest . If, however, any arrested person has t o be forwarded to Court or released on bail, before being brought to the police -station, the off ic er concerned shall make a relevant entr y in the general diar y on his return to the police -station and columns 1 to 4 shall be filled up with the particulars of such a person also .

(c – Columns 5 to 7 shall be filled up as and when the necessar y inf or matio ns are availabl e .

Accused to be forwarded to Magtistrate and application for detention in police custody .

324 . (a) Section 61 read with section 167 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure, requires that an accused shall be sent forthwitgh to the nearest Magi strate, together with a copy of the entries , in the case di ary, if the enquir y be not completed within 24 hours of his arrest; but in no case shall the accused remain in police custody longer than under all the circumstances of the case is reasonable .

The Hi gh Court have issued the following orders regarding remands: –

“The attention of all Magistrates is invited to the provisions of section 167 of the Code of Crilninal Procedure an ( to the importance of exercising a sound j udicial discretion in th e matter of granting or refusing remands thereunder. Orders under this section, it is to be observed, should be made in the presence of the prisoner and after hearing any obj ection he may have to make to t he proposad order. When further detention is consid ered necessary the remand should be for the shortest possible peried . Application for remands to police cust ody should be carefull y scrutinized and in gener al should be granted only when it is shown that the presence of the accused with the police is neces sary for the identification of persons, the discover y or identification of propert y, or t he li ke special reason . In particular. the court is of opinion that applications, if ever made, f or the remand to police custody of a prisoner who has failed to make a n expected confession or statement should not be granted . ‘ . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

When the conditions j ustifying a remand to police custody exi st the station officer shall forward the accused t o the nearest Magistrate (whether or not he has j urisdiction to try the case), together with a copy of his case diar y and report the matter to the Superintendent .

The grounds upon which the remand is needed shall be distinctly stated in the application to the Magistrate .

An application for a remand to police custody shall not be treated as a matter of routine and of little i mportance, It shall be made t o the Subdi visional Magistrate through the thief police officer present at the district or subdivisional headquarters .

No order remanding an accused person t o police cu stody shall be passed by an officer of lower status than a Magistrate of the 2nd class and applications for remands shall be made to Magistrates of the required status onl y.

The exercise of the power to remand a prisoner to police custody shall be re stricted to stipendiary Magistrate of the required status, and in their absence, to Honorar y Magistrates of the Ist class with si ngle sitting powers .

When the obj ect of the remand is the veri fication of the prisoner ‘s statement he shoul d be remanded to the charge of a Magistrate .( i) The period of remand shall be as short as possible .

(j ) Whenever an application for the remand of an accused person to polise custody is made, he should invariabl y be produced before’ the Magistrate . Such an applicatio n should be made at the earliest possibl e moment and subsequent applications for further remands to police custody, where necessary. should be made in continuation of t he for mer. An . Under -trial prisoner cannot remai n in police custody aft er 15 days have e lapsed from the date of his first production before the Magistrate .

Pursuit , arrest and extradition of offenders in Indian States and Foreingn Territory.

325 . (a) Rules for the pursuit, arrest and extradition of offenders who have escaped from British India to state territory or vice versa are gi ven in Appendix XX .

The procedure for securing extradition of an offender from or to French Chandernagore is laid down in Appendix XXI .

Procedure to be followed to procure the attendance of persons a ccused of non extraditable offences who have taken refuge in an Indian State of the eastern states Agency.

328 . (a) 1f it is necessary to secure the attendance of a person accused of a non -extraditable offence who has taken refuge in an Indian State inc luded in the Eastern State agency, the trial court should be move to Issue a letter of request through t he Resident to the Durbar concerned asking them to procure the attendance of the offender (vide Bengal Gover nment order Nos . 4225 -4254P . dated 12th Ap ril 1938) . Warrants an summonses Issue by British Indian courts in such cases have no legal validity in the States,

A list of the States included in the Eastern States Agency, together with the addresses of their respective

Political Agents is gi ve n in Appendix XX II.

Accommodation and acgregation of prisoners in lock – ups [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

327 . (a) The accommodation of each lock – up shall be based on the scale of 36 squar e feet per prisoner, There shall be separate compartments for male and f emale prisoners . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Juvenile prisoners shall be kept segregate . from other adult prisoners ordinarily in the female lock -ups if no female prisoner be there, When this is not possible due to the presence of female prisoners the j uveniles should be kept in a convenient place under proper guar d,

A notice in English and vernacular shall be hung up outside t he lock -up at ever y police – station and post showi ng the maxi mum number of male or female prisoners which the lock -up is authorised by the St ate Govern ment to accommodate,

The authorized number shall never be exceeded; and any excess shall be accommodated in a convenient place under an adequate guard,

Examination of prisomers before admission to lock – ups [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

328 . (a) The officer i n charge of a police – station or post shall be responsible for the safe custody of all prisoner sbrought to the station or post .

Before admitting prisoners to a police l ock – up, he shall caref ully examine the person of the pruisoner for any signs of inj ury, and record in the general diar y a full description of any mar ks of inj ury found on hi m, if necessary calling independent witnesses from the neighbourhood to wit ness the existence of the inj uries at the ti me of admission to the lock – up .

NOTE . -The obj ect of this regulation is to protect police officers against (charges of torture founded on inj uries received before the prisoner came into the hands of the police .

He shall also search the prisoner and remove ever y – thing from his possession, ex cept articles of wearing apparel, . and shall gi ve the prisoner a receipt for all articles taken, from his possession . ( s ee regulation 322 . ) Glass, conch – shell or iron bangles shall not be removed from the person – of female prisoners . He shall allow the pr isoner to take onl y str ictly necessary clothing int o the lock -up .

He shall then enter and examine the lock -up and see – that no weapons or articles that can facilitate escape or suicide, such as bamboos, ropes, tools, etc . , ar e in or within reach of th e lock -up .

Guards for lock – ups [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

329 . (a) On the arri val of a prisoner, the officer in charge – shall note the fact in the general diary and shall tell off a guard and place an Assistant Sub – Inspector, a head constable – or a senior constable in charge . He shall enter t he names . of the Assi stant Sub – Inspector, head constable or senior con – stable and the constables detailed and their hours of dut y ir n the general diary. [See regulation 237(f). ]

At the ti me of relieving sentries, the officer in charge: of the guard and the relieving sentry shall count the prisoners and see that all is well . The key of the lock – up shall remain with the sentr y.. and except in urgent cases, such as

an outbreak of fire, he shall not unlock the door w ithout first caning the officer in . charge of the police post .

The sentries on duty between sunset and sunrise shall be provi ded with a lantern, which shall be kept burning brightl y at a safe distance from the door, but in such a position as to illuminate the interior of the lock -up

If it be necessar y to open the lock -up or to take out a: prisoner, the officer in charge of tpe police post shall beo called and the assistant of other constables taken if necessar y.

(f ) Prisoners shall be t aken out t o relieve nature at as late an hour as possible before offi cers retire to rest, in order that it may not be necessary to open the lock -up again during the; night . Before being t aken out they shall be secured with leg -shackles, handcuffs or r ope . They shall not be allowed out of si ght and when relieving nature shall be attached by means of a rope to a constabl e .

Use of handcuffs . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ] Police Regulations Bengal 1943

3 3 0 . (a) Prisoners arr ested by the police for transmission to a Magistrate ,or to the scene of an enquir y, and also under – trial prisoners, shall not be subj ected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent their escape . The use of handcuffs or ropes is often an unnecessary indignit y.

In no case, shall women be handcuffed, nor shall restraint: be used to those who either by age or infir mit y are easily and securel y kept in custody. Witnesses arrested under section: 171, Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall, in no circumstances be handcuffed .

In bailable cases prsoners should not be handcuffed unless violen t, and then onl y by the order of the officer in charge of the police -st ation, the reason for t he necessit y of this action ,being entered in the general diary and in the certificate in B . P. For m No . 57 .

In non -bailable casest the amount of restraint necess ar y must be . left to the discretion of the officers concerned . In certain circumstances the use of handcuff s may not be necessary to prevent escape but if for instance, the prisoner is a powerful man In custody for a cri me of violence, or is of not orious a ntecedents; or disposed to gi ve trouble, or if the ,j ourney is long, ortne number of prisoners is large, handcuffs may properl y be used . Escorts shoul d, in any case, be supplied with handcuffs for use, should necessity arise .

In the case of t wo prison ers whom it is necessary to handcuff, t hey will be handcuffed in couples, the ri ght wrist of one to the left wri st of the other. In no circumstances :should more than two prisoners be secured together .

(c) In all cases in which the use of handcuffs is al lowed . and considered necessar y , and when no proper handcuffs are available, the prisoners may be secured by ropes or pieces of

. clothing . These shall be so tied, as not to interfere unduly with pr oper circulation, and shall be replaced by handcuffs as so on as possible .

Great caution shall be exercised at all ti mes in the removal of handcuffs and other fastenings from prisoners enroute whether by land or water.

Handcuffs shall be kept in good order. If broken, they :shall be mended or replaced without delay.

Guarding and escorting of persons arrested [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

331 . The regulations i n Chapter XI for the escort of convicts appl y generall y to the guarding and escorting of persons, arrested by the police, so far as they are not contradi ctory to’the regulations contained in this chapter, but no person so arrested shall be subj ected to more restraint than is necessary, to prevent his escape .

Escort of prisoners to and from police posts . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

332 . The following are the ru les for the escor t of prisoners to and from police posts: –

(i ) In despatching pri soners clear instructions shall be gi ven to t he escort, regarding r oute and halting places .

(ii) In the generalit y of cases it will be sufficient to send one constable in c harge of one or even t wo pett y offenders; if really necessary, a chaukidar shall accompany hi m. In the event of the constable having to go aside for any purpose, he shall see that the prisoner is properly secured, and if a chaukidar is available, shall han dcuff the pri soner ‘s ri ght wrist to the chaukidar ‘s left . Chaukidars selected shoul d be able -bodled . They shall be relieved when possible on the road, and not taken to an unreasonable distance from their villages . Their diet and travelling al lowance, lodgi ng hire and lighting expenses in connection with the escort or custody of accused persons arrested by them shall be paid from the grant under “Contract Contingenci es” in the police budget at the rates laid down in regulation 1165 .

Chaukidars shall n ot be employed more than is . absolutely necessary, as they ar e not liable to j udicial punishment when prisoners escape .

If the offence with which the prisoner is charged is . of a serious nature, or the prisoner is of a desperate character of if there be a large number of pri soners, the escort shall be proportionately increased, or in urgent cases more than one chaukidar may be called in to help . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

When a prisoner sent up for trial is known to be – desperate character or to have previousl y suffered fr om lunacy the fact shall be reported separately to the Court officer.

(vi ) The officer in charge shall despatch pr isoners at sqch a ti me that, ordinarily, they may arrive at their destination or a suitaable halting place before ni ght fall . A certificate in B . P. For m No . 57 shall accompany the prisoners .

Meals shall be t aken by dayli ght or if a short delay: onl y be necessary, deferred until arrival at a station .

(viii) The officer in charge shall see, as far as possible that prisoners in transit ar e pr operly fed and treated .

If the part y has to sleep at ni ght on the r oad, the constable in charge shall, on arriving at the village selected f or the purpose, go to the headman of the place and calf upon him to provide a secure room for the custody of the prisoner or prisoners . and extra men, if necessary, for ni ght guard .

When prisoners go aside to relieve nature, they shall be secured by leg -shackles, handcuffs or a rope . They shall . not be all owed out of si ght and a rope shall connect the prisoner and his guard .

(xi ) Ever y prisoner despatched from a station to court shall, if possible, be forwarded direct to the nearest Magis – trate having j urisdiction, and shall not be sent station by station or to the next superior officer of police .

Police officers and others taking charge of vagrants, for the purposes of the Eur opean Vagrancy Act, shall take such reasonable car e of the vagrants as their physical condition . the season of the year, and other circumstances may render advisable .

Police officers shall not compel witnesses or accused persons to travel long distances when they are not in a fit condition physical ly to stand the j ourney.

Bills for prisoners diet and traveling expenses and cost of conveyance of stolen property ect, . sent to the Court .

333 ( a) E xpenses incurred in feeding and transporting prisoners while in transit from police – stations to headquarters, and of hajat prisoners made over temporarily to the police -for purposes of detection as well as the cost of conveyan ce of stolen property and other art icles sent to the court will be paid by the District Magistrate .

The officer in charge of the escort shall keep an account of such expenditure and on

return to the station, deliver the account, t ogether with the bal ance of any cash which may have been advanced t o hi m, to the officer in charge of the poli ce -station . If an escort is changed on the j ourney, the account with any undisbursed cash shall be made over to the relieving officer, who, on his return to his stati on, shall make it over to, the officer in charge of the station for transmission to the station of original despatch .

At the end of the month the officer in charge of the , police -station shall prepare a detailed bill in duplicate in B . P. For m No . 58 of all expenses incur red On this account during the month and shall forward it to the Superintendent ‘s office . (See r egulation 1181 . )

VI . – INSPECTION.

Memorandum of points for inspection of police stations and out – posts .

334 . A memorandum of points w hich shoul d be thoroughl y looked into by Superintendents, Subdi visional Police Officers and Inspectors, is gi ven in Appendix XX III as an aide memoire . This memor andum is not exhaust ive, and inspecting officers are, of course, at liberty to include wit hin the scope of their inspections any other matters which’ appear to them to require scrut iny. It is not intended that remar ks shall be recorded on any points unless they require notice, but it is expected that none of these poi nts will be overlooked .

Inspection of police stations by civil surgeons .

335 . Ci vil Surgeons have instructions when on tour to inspect police -stations th ey may pass trough in the course of their tours . They, while making an inspection of the police -station, Police Regulations Bengal 1943

shall record their remar ks in the inspecti on register, in the same manner as any other inspecting officers, copies, being forwarded by officers in charge of police -stations to Superintendents in the ordinar y way. Superintendents shall do t heir best to carr y out any recommendations made by medical officers, and if, for financial reasons they are unable to do so, they shall appl y through the Deput y Inspector -General to the Inspector -General for necessary funds .

V I I . – S U RV E I L L A N C E .

Persons to be placed under surveillance . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

336 . (a) It is i mpossi ble to define with absolute precision the class of persons to be pl aced under sur veillance and much discretion must be left to Superintendents . They should remember that , although sur veillance is t o be exercised by t he village authorities the efficiency of the sur veillance will depend largel y on the supervision maintained by the station . staff, and the number of sur veilles should be li mited to what the staff is abl e to supervise effecti vel y. The list of persons under sur veillance shoul d, therefore, be confined to the . narrowest possibl e li mits . It may, however, be laid down that all persons addicted t o the following classes of cr ime should ordinarily be placed under sur vei llance: –

(i ) Persons who have at any ti me during the past five years ‘been convicted of dacoity, burglar y or theft, robbery, drugging, counter feiting, murder for gai n or bad li velihood .

Suspects . – Persons who are known or suspected to have been concerned in any of the above offences during the same period, or who are or are believed to be professional, habitual or notorious cattle – lifters or burglars, thieves, receivers of stolen property, harbourers or abettors of thieves or to belong to any cri minal tribe or gang.

No person falling under cla use (ii) shall be placed under surveillance unless a hi story sheet has been opened, and the orders of Superintendent obtained i n the manner laid, down in the following regulati on . In the case of per sons falling under clause (i ) the station officer should, from ti me t o ti me, as opportuni ty occurs, institute enquiries with a view to ascertaining whether the e . x – convict is living an honest life . or has reverted to cri minal habits .

NOTE . -persons who have been convicted or are roasonably suspected of opium or cocain smuggling, and in the districts of Raj shahi, Dinaj pur and Bogr a persons who have been convicted or are reasonbl y suspected of ganja smuggling, should be placed under surveillance . Chaukidars, in whose j urisdiction such persons reside should be furni shed with a list gi ving their names and warneu to report their absence to stat ion officers without delay. Station officers shall deal with these report s in the same manner as in the case of other bad characters orsuspects .

Superintendent to order surveil lance . [ 12, Act V, 1861]

337 . (a) When the history sheet of any person gi ves rise to a reasonable presumption that the person concerned is an active cri minal, the fact shall be reported to the Superintendent who will decide whether t here are sufficient gr ounds for requiring the police to exercise closer supervision over hi m. It is desirable that, whenever possible, this decision should be based on enquir y at the pol ice -station and not merely on a written report . If the Superintendent decides that closer supervision is necessar y, he should pass or ders for his surveillance and the history sheet will then be dealt with as laid down in regulation 403 and it wil l be maintained in much gr eater detail .

Removal or addition of names for surveillance .

338 . (a) The Magistrate of the district or the superintendent may direct the removal of surveillance from any person .

Superintendents and Circle Inspectors shall scrutinize the entries in the history sheets whenever they visit a police – station . The opinion of the officer in charge of the pol ice – Police Regulations Bengal 1943

station regarding the r emoval of names or the addition of new names should not be accepted as a matter of course, but . the Superintendent should, whenever possible, proceed to the village where the s uspect or ex -convict . resides, and by questioning the villagers ascertain whether it is necessary to bring the suspect or ex -convict . under surveillance . It may be occasiopaliy expedient for the Superintendent to infor m pri vatel y a person brought under surveillance that . his conduct has been suspicious and that his movements will be l osely watched by the police .

Surveillance over unconvicted persons . [12,ActV, 1861]

339 . No unconvicted person shall ordinaril y be kept under sur veillance for more than thre e years . But if, for Special reason, it is desirable to continue the surveillance beyonq this period, the order of the District . Magistrate shall be obtained and renewed at inter vals of one year on proceedings drawn up, either by the District Magistrate o r by a Subdi visional Magistrate or by a Superintendent showing in detail the gr ounds on which sur veillance is deemed necessar y. These proceedings, with the District Magistrate‘s order there on, shall for m the record of inf or mation to be noted i n the histor y sheet . Proceedings drawn up under this regulation shall be treated as ―confidential records‖ and shal l be in the custody of the senior station officer.

Surveillance by village headmen, union board , panchayat and watchmen. [12 , Act V, 1861]

340 . Sur veillance in towns shall be exercised by the police, but in villages it shall also be entrusted to the union board , panchayat or watchmen . All union boards and panchayats shall be furnished by the officer in charge of the police -station with a list of ba d chatacters residing within their j urisdictions, and whenever any person is removed or buought under surveillance, due inti mation shall be gi ven to the village headman, president of union board or of panchayat to enable hi m to correct his list .

Duty of police in regard to surveillance . [12, Act V 1861]

341 . (a) Local cnquiri es regarding each person under sur veillance should ordinarily be made at intervals of not less than one month . Such enquiries shall ordinarily be made by a Sub – Inspector, but when , owing to pressure of wor k or other special reason , no Sub – Inspector is available, the station officer may depute an Assistant Sub – Inspector to make the enquiry, recording his reasons in the general diar y. The main obj ect of these visits is to ascertain whether the sur veille is being watched by t he village chaukidr, and that his movements and the visits to his house of strangers are promptoy reported at the police -station . If there is reason to believe that the village authorities are neglecting their du ty in this respect, the fact shall be immediatel y brought to the notice of the Superintendent who shall take such action as may be necessar y . The opportunity should also be taken to enquire into the general conduct of the sur veille, his habits and particu lars regarding his antecedents and his associates . All visits paid to the sur veilles shall be entered in thei r history sheets .

(b) It is not pract icable to lay down hard -and -fast rules regarding the classificat on of surveilles for purposes on supe r vision . It is the Circle Inspector who is in the best position to decide, having regard to local conditions and the incidence of cri me in his circle, the nature of the supervision to be exercised, and it is for the Circle Inspector, subj ect to the general control of the Superintendent, to pass orders, from ti me to time, as to the degree and nature of the super vision to be exercised by his station officers over each sur veille in his circle j urisdiction .

It is i mportant that the method of the supervisio n exercised should be deter mined with reference to the class of cri me to which the surveille is addicted, and should not be allowed to become stereot yped . For instance, a dacoit or ‘ burglar should obviousl y be looked up at his home at ni ght, and, if necess ary, several times the same ni ght, especially’ during the dark nights; but in the case of a pick -pocket it would be of greater use to have hi m carefully watched at hat . and other places which he is known to frequent . In the case’ also of swindlers, drugger s utterers of counterfeit coins, forgers, etc . , it is obviousl y useless to Police Regulations Bengal 1943

depend upon ni ght visits . Such visits Ca!l serve no useful purpose and are a mere wast e of time . What the station officer should ai m at is to get earl y infor mation of the absence of a criminal addicted to any of these cri mes and to note the fact of the absence in his registers, and on the return of t he cri minal question him as to the cause of his absence and verif y his statement without delay. No detailed instruct ions can be laid dow n, but officers are expected to use their intelligence and make the sur veil lance as effective as possible .

It may be occasionally necessar y in special instances to maintain a secret watch over themovements of certain criminals, such as cannot be eff ectivel y carried out in the ordinaryway. In such cases t he officer in charge of the . police -station may employ agents orinfor mers for the purpose, but he shall in each case report his action without delay to theSuperintendent, through the Circle Inspect or. Charges thus incurred will be met from theSuperintendent ‘s grant for secret service .

Gazetted officers should occasionally personally ,look up per sons under sur veillance as opportunity offers, and this should be noted in the officer ‘s tour diary, as well as in the history sheets of the person concerned .

(I ) The officer in charge of the police -station shall see that ever y member of the station staff is able to recognise: ever y sur veille at sight . The local enquiries referred to in clause (a) should as far as possi ble be made by the officers in charge or his j unior Sub – Inspector, but for surveillance Assist ant Sub -Inspectors must also be employed and con . stables singly or as part of an organi zed patrol party may also be deputed from ti me t o ti me to ascertain whether sur. veilles are absent from home . Constables may also be deputed to camping gr ounds, sarais,f erries, and all places of public resort, to pick up infor mation, but the const ables should be gi ven definite instructions as to the localities they are to visit and the enquiries to be made . and they should be required to return to the police -station by a gi ven ti me . All such deputations must be entered in the general dairy of the police -st ation, and any infor mation which may have been obtained s hould be recorded in the histor y sheets .

Rules for reporting movements of bad characters .

342 . When a bad char acter, who has been pl aced under sur veillance, absents hi mself, it shall be the dut y of the chaukidar i mmediately to infor m the officer in char ge of the pollce -statlon of the fact as well as of the destinatlon of t he cri minal if this can be known . The infor mation shall be conveyed personally by the village chaukidar, if the distance to be covered does not exceed fi ve miles . In all other cases it will ‘be sufficient if the panchayat or the union board sends’ a postcard report, the chaukidar confirming the infor mat ion when he attends at the police -station on the next parade day. Printed postcards will be supplied, but if the supply of post -cards is exhaust ed, a written report enclosed in an envel ope may be sent by post bearing.

Bad character Roll A . .

343 . (a) The officer in charge of the police -station shall at once, on receipt of the infor mation, fill in a bad character .

roll “A ” (B . P. For m No . 59) and shall add a brief precis of the habits and manners of such bad character and forward it by the quickest pqssible means, whether by hand or by post, to the officer in charge of the police -station within which is situated the place to which the bad character is alleged or believed to have gone . If the route to such destination lies withi n the j urisdiction of an inter mediate police -station or stations, an inti mation shall also be sent to such police -station unless it is believed that the sur veille will proceed by railway or steamer .

If the destination of the bad character is not known, a copy of the roll shall be sent to ever y police -station within or outside the province, to which ther e is any likelihood of his having gone . If the surveille is addicted to crime on the railways, inti mation shall also be sent by the quickest possible means to the nearest railway police -station .

If the sur veille is a member of a known gang of cri minals, t he officer in charge shall besides taki ng action as above at once arrange that a special wat ch be maintained on other members of the same gang, whether residi ng in his own or other police -station until the surveille returns . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

( d) A police officer who receives the roll shall immediatel y take ste ps to ascertain whether the bad character has arrived within the limit of his j urisdiction . If the bad charact er is found, the police offi cer sha1l note the date and hour of his arrival, the name of the person with whom he is staying, and the names of any persons with whom he associates and he shall arrange to have his proceedings watched in the same way as if he were a registered bad character of his own station . If he has not been traced on the expiry of one week from the receipt of the roll the officer r eceiving the r oll shall return it with a statement to that effect on the back of it to the police -station of issue .

When the bad character leaves the li mits of the station for his home or elsewhere, within

or outside the province, the . officer in ch arge shall forward the r oll to the officer in charge of the police -station t o which the bad char acter has gone, noting on the back of it al l the infor mation regarding the individual ‘s movements which was collected while he was resi ding within the li mits of the station and sending intimation to any inter mediate . police -station or stations falling on his route, unless it is bel ieved that the sur veille will proceed by railway or steamer. If the bad character goes to a police – station other than that in which h e is registered, the officer in charge of the latter shall be infor med of t he fact .

Bad Character roll B .

344 . If the union board, panchayat or watchmen hear of the advent of a suspicious stranger in their villages . it shall

be their dut y to questi on the person regardi ng his antecedents and residence . and to send to the police -station, wit h as little delay as possible, all the infor mation obtained by them. The procedure laid down i n regulation 342 shall be followed if the enquiry shows that there is reason to believe that the stranger is a bad character.

Bad character roll B .

344A. (a) On receipt of infor mation that a suspicious stranger has arrived within . the st ation j urisdiction it shal be the dut y of the offi cer In charge of the pohce -station to send bad character roll “B ” (B . P. For m No . 60) with t he ut most possible dispatch to the police -station within the limits of which the stranger alleges that he resides . If before the receipt of the reply to the roll, the stranger lea ves the place for another j urisdiction, a copy of the roll shall be sent to that police -station .

On recei ving such a roll the officer in charge of a police -st ation shall at once return it with complete infor ma – tion regarding the i ndividual in questi on, if he is a resident of that station; while, if he i s not a resident, the roll shall be returned with a statement to that effect . In such case t he officer who issued the roll must take all possible steps to discover the identity of the stranger.

The nature of the information recei ved regarding the stranger will guide the police officer as to the steps that should be taken, whether to institute proceedings under section 109 or 110, Code of Cri minal Procedure or to watch the movements of the stranger. Bad character fells “A” and “B” for reporting the arrival or departure of bad characters on t heir return to the issuing officer shall be pasted on the foil of the roll book. They shal l be destroyed after three years .

Surveillance of criminals belonging to gangs .

345 . (a) Sur veillance should be by gangs . If a member of a gang is found ab . sent, an enquiry slip shall be i mmediat ely issued to all poIice -stations within whose j urisdictions any of the members of the gang resides, stating t he facts, enquiring whether any of the other members were absent at the same ti me . Si milar steps are to be taken on t he occurrence of a cri me in which a known gang i s suspected of having been concerned . In cases of dacoit y, there should be no delay in issu ing these enquir y slips . They shall be issued immediatel y after the first infor mation has been recorded and the fact noted in the general diary, gi ving the number and date of the slip and the officer and the name of the police -station t o which the slip has been Police Regulations Bengal 1943

issued . It shall be the duty of the officer receiving the slip to take action without delay, and to infor m the officer who issued the slip of the result of the enquiry. He shall enter in his general diar y the date and hour on which he received the sl ip and the date and our on which he returned it . In the event of any of the members of the gang being found absent, the fact and the number of the enquir y slip will be noted in the histor y sheet . All slips shall be carefully filed by the issuing officer. a s evidence of absence of gangs of known cri mi nals simultaneous with an outbreak of cri me is valuable evidence in bad livelihood cases . As much use as possible shall be made of village panchayats . union boards and chaukidars to assist in the surveillance ov er gangs, and they should be encouraged by liberal rewards fr om the Chaukidari Fund to report the absence of a member of a gang or of the visit of any strangers to members of a gang.

Surveillance of juvenile offenders . [12 , Act V, 1861] .

346 . Juvenile offenders may be placed under surveillance by t he Superintendent on their discharge from the Refor mator y or Borstal School onl y with the approval of the District Magistrate and if their conduct in the . school or after discharge from there necessItates such action .

Report of criminal charges against ex – reformatory school boys .

347 . The officer in charge of a police -station shall report to the Superintendent all cases in which cri mi mal charges are laid before the police agamst boys Iicensed under section 8( 1)of the Refor mator y Schools Act, 1897 (V III of 1897), by their pro tempore employers and against adolescents licensed under section 12(1) of the Bengal Borstal Schools Act, 1928 ( I of 1928) and shall proceed to deal with such cases in the usual manner acc ording to law. All cases in which e . x -ref or mator y school boys are concer ned shall be si milarl y reported . (See regulation 453 . )

Note . -” Reforrnator y School boys” include “Borstal School boys” .

Surveillance over conditionally discharged or released persons and persons restrained under section 565, Criminal Procedure Code . [ 12, Act V,1861]

348 . For rules appl ying to persons who are conditionally discharged under section 124 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure and persons agamst whom an order has been made un der section 565 of that Code, see Appendix XX IV,

Police officers shall report to the District Magistrate through the Superintendent any breach of the conditions i mposed under section 124 of the Code of Cri minal Procedure .

Working of the rules made under section 565, Criminal Procedure Code . (§12, Act V,1861)

349 . (a) In gi ving eff ect to the rules, in Appendix XX IV no unnecessary harassment of ex: – convicts shall be permitted . Any reasonable excuse for failure to report residence or an y intended change of or absence from residence, or delay in reporting any change of residence, shall be accepted . When any breach of the r ules comes to the noti ce of an officer in charge of a station and is reasonably explained, particulars shall be entered in the gene ral diar y. If any such breach is not at once reasonabl y explained, the station officer shall make any summar y enquiry which may be required to ascertain the facts, and, if necessary, take action for prosecution under sect ion 176, Indian Penal Code . Any bre ach of t he rules shall be recorded in the Village Cri me Note -Book at police -stations . The original statement as to residence mentioned in subclause (i) of the rules in Appendix XX IV shall be kept in the police -st ation where the convict has to notify his re sidence .

If the ex -convict does not return to the proposed place of residence within a reasonable time . and his whereabouts are not known, t he statement in duplicate received from the j ail

shall be sent to the Superintendent of the district where he w as last convicted, one copy being kept in the Superintendent ‘s office and the other in the police -station from which the man was sent up . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Surveillance of Persons convicted under the Opium and Excise Acts .

350 .. The names of persons convicted under the O pium Act , 1878, and the . Bengal Excise Act, 1909, whom the Super mtendent of Excise considers require surveillance, shall be forwarded by hi m to t he Superintendent of Poiice, who will issue the necessar y orders t o the police -station officer. The latter wil l open a histor y sheet from the infor mation supplied by the excise authorities and exercise the necessary’ sur veillance over the convict .

Classes of gangs tobe watched [ $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

351 . It is to be clearl y understood that the police cannot interf ere with the movement s of persons who are bona fide engaged in trade, and that they may only resort to preventive action in order to prot ect the public from the depredations of those wandering gangs whose obj ect is rather plunder or larceny than legiti mate trade . The following wandering gangs, among others suspected of being cri minal, are generally found in Bengal and are a sour ce of nuisance and danger t o the public: –

1) Dom (Maghaya), (2) Karwal, (3) Irani , (4) Minka alias Madari and ( 5) Sandars .

Wandering gangs .

. (a) Ever y dafadar is required to repor t without delay to his police -station the presence or arrival within his vi llage boundar y of any wandering gang.

(b) On receipt of such information the officer in charge of the pol ice -station shal l personally visit the place where t he gang is located, and if such gang is known of suspected to he ei ther ciminal or troublesome and oppressi ve, shall arrange to watch it carefully, particularly at night . For this purpose a sufficient number of constable s, dafadar s and chaukidars should be told off with clear inst ructions as to their duties . If the gang is not known or suspected t o be either cri minal or pressive, the officer in charge of the police -stat ion shall not place it under surveillance nor interfe re with it in any way.

(c) At frequent but irregular inter vals the officer in charge of the police -station or a j unior officer deputed by him shall visit the encampment of ever y wandering cri minal or oppre sive gang under sur veillance within his j urisdicti on, and shall satisfy hi mself that the sur veillance exercised by constabl es, dafadars and chaukidars is realleffective . Such visit shall be made at night whenever possible . The officer making the visit shall also enquire from the resi dents in the nei ghbour – hood about the behaviour of the gang, and if complaints are made against the gang, he shall equire into them and take such other action as may be necessar y i n the circumstances of the case . Ful I details of these visits shall be not ed in the officer ‘s mufassil diary.

If the gang is found to be cri minal or oppressive, whether it be a foreign Asiatic gang or not, no effort shall be spaied to bring the offenders to j ustice for specific cri mes and in

default of this to deal with the members of the gang u nder the preventi ve sections of the Code of Cri minal Procedure . On no account shall they be passed on under police guard f rom one province or one di strict to another .

(e) Whenever a cri mi nal or oppressi ve gang leaves, or is . about to leave the j ursidicti on of one police -station for another. the officer in charge of the police – station which the gangs is leaving shall send by t he quickest available means infor mation to t he officer in charge of the police -station to which the gangs is proceeding, to enable t he latter to make arrangement s for visiting and watching – t he gang . Whenever possible, this inf or mation shall be sent in advance

(f ) All infor mation received at police -stations regarding the movements of wandering gangs shall be entered in the general di ary, and it shall be the dut y of Circle Inspectors to see that action under this regul ation is promptl y taken by station officers .

Foreign Asiatic Vagrants . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ] Police Regulations Bengal 1943

353 . Gangs of forei gn Asiatic vagrants shall on no account be passed on under police surveil Iance from one province or district t o another. Whenever i t may appear to the officer in charge of a district that the presence of any such forei gners is undesirable, and that they cannot be dealt with under the Code of Cri minal Procedure, i nstead of passing them on t o an adj acent district, he shall submit a report of the circumntance thr ouh the proper channel, to the Provincial Government . asking for their deportation under the Forei gners Act, 1864 ( III of 1864) . Under secti on 2 of that . Act the onus of proof that he is not a foreigner and not subj ect to the provisi ons of the Act lies on the person so charged . Full lists and descr iptive rolls of the persons to be deported shall be submitted .

Note . – Forei gn Asiatic vagrants are traas – f rontier tribesmen who generall y visit India with the intention of committing cri me . More often than not they wander about the country without any visible means of subsistence . It is believed that many of these vagrants enter India as traders with the conni vance of t he regular powindahs, who deliberately allow fellow -tribesmen to accompany them for the purposes of cri me .

Action to be taken against bad characters and suspicious strangers under Sarais and Puraos Act .

( XXI1 of 1867) .

354 . (a) This Act is an eff ecti ve check upon the movements of bad characters and suspicious strangers who reside in hotels, sarais and lodging -houses and prey upon the public at important steamer or railway stations, district and subdivisional headquarters and other commercial cent res . It is also useful as a means of prevention and detection of cri me and facilitates the tracing of missing or suspected persons . The sarai – keeper is required under the Bengal Sarais Regulations, 1931, to keep a list of visitors, and literate persons are required to si gn their list of visitors, and l iterate persons are required to si gn their names and illiterate ones to gi ve their thumb . i mpressions in the register. Illiterate sarai – keepers are to be assisted by a literate officer from the police – station . .

If any person refuses to give infor mation concerning hi mself or if any suspicion ar ises against any particular person or persons, the sarai – keeper should be asked to report the f act immediatel y to the police for enquiry, with a view to the; inst itution of proceedings under section 109, Code of Cri minat Procedure, if necessar y.

Station officers who will, as a rule, be authorized as Inspectors under the Act, shall work the provisions of the Act carefully and treat the sarai – keepers with tact, courtesy and consideration .

VIII – QUTPOSTS AND PATROLS.

Outposts [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

355 . (a) The officer in charge of an outpost though responsible for the state of his post, will only perfor m the same duties he would carry out if posted to the pare nt police – station, subj ect in the same way to the control and di rection of the Sub – Inspector.

(b) Sub – Inspectors in charge of police -stations shall inspect all . outposts within t heir j urisdiction frequently, and are responsible for the state of them and for the conduct of the officers stationed here .

Town patrols . [) .

356 . (a) As local conditions differ greatl y throughout the provi nce no system of town pat rols which will be genera1ly applicable can be laid down .. Superintendents shall prescribe a suitable system for the towns in their districts . The rules shall be clearly drawn up in the district order book and a copy supplied to each police -station concerned A copy i n the vernacular shall be hung up in each town out post . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The town area shall be divided into beat s and at certain i mpor tant localities fixed posts shall also be established so that the public as well as the beat constables may know, wher e to apply f or aid in cage of necessity. Ordinaril y one – tenth of the for ce of each o utpost shall be reserved for vacancies, sickness, etc . Two -thirds of the remainder shall be detailed for night duty, the remaining one -third being utilised for day dut y. Dut y shall be so arranged that ever y head constable and constable shall have one ni ght out of ever y three off dut y. The desirability of having a certain proportion of the town staff wor king in plain clothes shal l be borne in mind as well as the necessit y for concentrating rather on t he byelanes and the backs of houses than on main through f ares . Unifor med constables when proceeding from the outpost on dut y shall i nvariabl y be inspected and marched off by a head constable .

The force in particular beats may be strengt hened when the state of cri me necessitates i t by a corresponding decrease i n other beats .

(c)Town constables should be frequentl y instructed in the necessity for noticing small details, e . g . , open doors at ni ght . suspicious noises, men lur king in the shadows, etc . They shall also be well acquainted with all resident bad charact ers . their appearance, associ ates and the places they frequent, all sarais, hotels, licensed liquor shops, etc .

A roster of dail y duties in B . P. For m No . 61 shall . be maintained at each town out post

which shall show how each officer is employed ever y d ay as well as the daily number of thefts and burglaries which occur in each beat .

Rural patrol .

Each patrol part y proceeding from a rur al outpost shall be gi ven a command certificate in which the villages t hey’ will visit and the bad characters the y wi ll look up shall be clearly mentioned . On their return to the outpost, the patrol parties will report on the back of the command certificate how the patrolling was carried out and whether the bad characters were found present .

Note . -Detailed instructi ons and suggestions for carrying out these patrols will be found in “Notes on patrols” by Sir Douglas Gordon, C . I. E . , J . P.

Abstract of particulars in case of accidents in streets, etc . ,

to be supplied to parties concerned on application. [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

357 . In case of accidents in streets or in ot her public ploaces, abstracts of particulars of an occurrence may be supplied in B . P. From No . 62 to parties concerned on application which must be accompanied by a fee of Rs . 5 ( See memorandum of inst ructions on the back of the for m) .

Officers to go the rounds . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

358 . (a) The Superint endent shall decide in what towns in the district there shall be nightl y rounds, and in each such town an officer shall be deputed dail y to perfor m th em .

The Superintendent shall hi mself go the rounds occasionally and shall depute his Assistant and Deput y Superintendents to do so .

In towns where there is no Town Inspector, it is part of the regular dut y of the Ar med Inspector and Sergeant to g o the rounds, and the Superintendent shall lay down, i n the district order book, how often in the month or week each officer shall do so .

All Inspectors and Sub – Inspectors stationed at or visiting district or subdi vi sional headquarters are liable for this dut y. .

Although Assistant Sub -Inspectors should be used as frequently as possible for the supervision of town patrols, they should not be deputed as rounds officers or visit thet guards . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Officers should invariabl y note in their tour diar ies the date and hour of all such night rounds .

Officers going out on patrol to inspect the watch at post offices at night . [ $ 12, Act v, 1861 . ]

359 . The station and town police shall pay special attention to post offices . A note of the fact that there is a post off ices in any particular Village shall be made in Part III of the Vil lage Cri me Note -Book. All pohce officers going out on patrol at night, either in towns or in the interior, shall make a point of inspecting the watch at post offices, and sh all see whether the men employed by the Postal Depart ment to guard the offices are doing their dut y. If any carelessness or remissness is found, a report shall be submitted thr ough the superintendent to the postal authprity concerned .

Floating outposts and patrol launches . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 .]

360 . (a) Floating outposts and patrol launches are at the disposal of the Superintendent of the district to which al located subj ect to the general control of the Deput y Inspector -General . They are intended to be a mobile force for the purpose of protection of bona fide users of the main water ways of the district and for the control and detection of ri ver cri minals, and the prevention of ri ver crime . The Superintendent with the consent of the Range Deputy Inspector -General may alter the location of any launch or floating outpost but shall invariabl y specif y in a district order the police -station to which it is proposed to be allot ted and define its j urisdiction so that the responsibility of the Circle Inspector and of ficer-in – charge of the police -st ation with regard to the observance of the rules relating to these crafts may be specified, and the patrol area of the officer -in -charge of the floating outpost defi ned .

(b) It shall be the duty of the Range Deputy Inspecto r- General to see that effort is not wasted by allowing two floating outposts to patrol the whole or part of the same area, and to bear in mind the principal that these patrols are for the main waterways, the lesser routes being already provided for by station patrol boats .

The strength of a floating outpost is 1 Assistant Sub – Inspector and 5 constables . The extra strength allotted to a police -station with a patrol launch is . 1 Sub -Inspector and 3 constables . The individual personnel will be attache d to the parent police -station and the whole staff of Assist ant Sub -. Inspectors and constables will take turn and turn about on outpost dut y -usuall y at 3 months . inter vals . Si milarl y all the Sub -Inspectors at the police – station shall in turn do launch patr olling . When moved from one station to another the outpost shall take its allotted strength to the new station . When possible the Sub – Inspector allotted for a launch shall be accommodated in the upper deck excluding the office and record -room. In other cas es the Assistant Sub -Inspector in charge may occupy these upper deck quarters .

To each floating outpost shall be attached 1 ghasi boat with 1 manjhi and 3 mal lahs . These boats shall be hired by the Superint endent at a rate not exceeding Rs . 60 each pe r mensem from recognised contractors, tenders being called for where possible . The tenderer shall undertake to provide always a ser viceable boat with the requisite crew to perfor m not less than 15 ni ght patrols per month .

There shall be two muskets at each float ing outpost and patrol launch with 20 r ounds of ball ammunition for each musket and 10 rounds of buckshot ammunition for each floating outpost and patrol launch . The officer -in – charge shall be personally responsible for the cleanliness, care and safety of these weapons . They shall be taken out with the prescribed ammunition with ever y patrol part y.

(f ) Detailed rules for the wor king of floating outposts and patrol launches are contained in Appendix XXV.

Station patrol boats . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

361 . (a) In addition t o floating outpost and patrol launches pat rol boats are provided for certain police -stations boats . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

as an aid to the officer -in -charge in –

(i ) the prevention of crime and particularl y that for m of cri me i n which boats are used b y criminals either in goi ng to or escaping from the scene of occurrence ;

the stopping of any particular area after the commission of a crime in order to exami ne all suspicious boats and persons coming out of the area under observation ;

the obser vation of the movements of ri ver -borne traffic duri ng the rains over a larger area than would be otherwise possible and its . proper protection .

These boats shall be under the control of the Superintendent and are to be empl oyed solely on patrol du ties .

The limits within which each patrol boat is to be employed shall be determined by the Superintendent . As a rule boats shall not proceed beyond those li mits except under circumstances of emergency, such as the pursuit of offenders .

Each bo at shall ordinarily be manned by not less than . one Assistant Sub – Inspector and two constables . They wilt form a part of the strength of the police -station to which . the: boat is attached and shall be . detaIled for boat duty strictly’ i n turn with the othe r Assistant Sub – Inspectors and constables there .

Patrol should ordi narily be confined to especially; danger ous spots with provision for surprise visits at uncertain intervals in other areas, according to t he incidence of cri me . The period for which e ach part y shall remain on dut y depends upon local condition . The Superintendent sha1l use his discretion in t he matter .

Note . -This does not , of course, appl y to special circumstances, such as a pursuit, when the Assistant Sub – Inspect or in charge must use his discretion .

(f ) In each group of officers detailed for dut y in the patrol boat there shall be t wo officers at least who have recently fired their musketr y course and know the use and care of ar ms .

Each patrol boat shall be provided with two musk ets from the station with 20 rounds ball ammunition per musket: and 10 rounds buckshot ammunition per petrol boat . The packets of ball ammunition shall not be opened until r equired, but one packet of buckshot ammunition shall be opened, 5 rounds being kept loose i n the pouch of each constable on dut y.

An ar med sentr y sha1l always be on duty to be relieved ever y four hours . The musl ket s when not in use shall be! securel y fastened to the boat by drawing a chain or bar through the triggerguards .

(i ) Each patrol boat shall have a crew of not less than one manjhi (steersman) and two mallahs (rowers), and be equipped with a ser viceable sail and mast .

(i ) Anyone of the crew absent without leave shall be fined 8 annas for ever y day or part of a day he is so absent . The officer -in -charge shall note such absences in the acquittance – r oll of the Crew. The amount of fine for unauthorised absences shall be deducted from the cont ract amount payable – mont hly to the person from whom the boat is hired .

The round of weekly duties of the patrol boat shall ordinarily be as below: – Patrol -Four days . Observation of traffic in the vicinity of t he police – station – Two days . Rest -One day

These . duties may be varied at the discretion of the station offic er, the days of patrol, observation or rest being altered ever y week, so that the direction of the patrol or the day of rest or observation may riot be anticipated . One day’s rest a week must be gi ven, if possible, to the crew.

( I) Ever y patrol will be ca rried out under the definite written orders of the officer -in -chargeof the police -station who should detail -(i ) the streams and khals to be patrolled ;

the villages to be visited ; the kind of inf ormation to be collected ; the persons to be l ooked for; and

the kinds of boats to be watched and, if necessary, examined . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

In sending out a boat for patrol or for observation, etc . , the station officer shall, as f ar as possible, so arrange that . an i mmediate message can be sent out quickl y to it, on the occurrence of any emergency, such as a dacoity, in order that the boat may change its course or come back to the police – station .

In perfor ming the duties detailed above, the boat staff shall ————–

find out all abo ut the boats moored at the ghats, vi z. , where they come from, where they are going to, what they carr y, with special regard to any suspicious circumstances indicating the possibility that they are concerned in crime ;

treat all ghasi and sip boats ordinaril y with suspicion and, i f any reasonable suspicion exists, shall examine them, asking and noting the names of all the passengers and crew, t heir

destination, the place from which they have come, etc . , and then, if necessar y, place the m under obser vat ion until searched according to the provisions of section 165, Code of Cri minal Procedure;

on the occurrence of a dacoity, keep under obser vation every ghasi o r sip boat f ound within a reson . able distance and ti me of the occurrence, until searched as in clause (ii ) above ;

make careful enquiries, particularly at night, about gayana boats found shortly aft er a dacoity, as these boats also -are not always above suspicion ;

{v) sei ze and suspicious propert y found, such as ram daos, kukri s, sled ge -hammer, chhenis, swords, spears,

. masks, torches, firear ms, etc . ;

(vi ) gi ve as far as possible convoy to boats passing through any particularly dangerous part of the route: and

get accquainted with the different towns arid villages on and near the ri vers and the habits of the people li ving therein .

(0) The station patrol boats shall not be used either as a . means of conveyance for police officers or for the or dinary wor k connected with a police -station, such as the ser ving or ekecution of proc esses, domicilar y visits of b,ad characters, etc . , but advantage may be t aken of them to check the wor k of chaUkidars at night or to ascertain the whereabouts of bad characters or suspects on the report of an occurrence .

(p) The Assistant Sub – Inspector on dut y in t he boat shall keep a mufassil diary in duplicate, recording therein his proceedings during his tour of duty and submit it on relief to – the officer -in -charge . The duplicate copy of t he diar y shall be sent each day to the Circle Inspector.

(q) Ever y boat shall have a distinguishing number and a flag. The number shall be painted on the boat and quoted in all correspondence, defect lists, etc .

(r) Superintendents shall watch carefull y t he wor king of the pat rol boats and shall notice their work iff their annual reports . Other inspecting officers shall also pay special attention to these boats and noti ce their condition .

The police employed on ri vers shall work in concertt with the land police . The land police shall, in li ke manner wor k in co -operation with those in the boats, each communicating: to t he other any infor mation obtained and mutuall y flssisring i n the detection and arrest of offenders .

(t ) The Circle Inspector shall inspect the moving of the patrol boats once ever y two months, and superior officers as often as they are required to inspect police -stafions .

– RURAL POLICE.

States of the rural police .

362 . (a) Dafadars and chaukidars, commonl y known as the rural police, are appointed under the Village Chaukidari Act, 1870 ( Ben . A ct V I of 1870), or the Bengal Village Self – Government Act, 1919 (Ben . Act V of 1919) . They are subj ect to the provisions of these Acts Police Regulations Bengal 1943

and to the – rules cont ained in the Chaukidari Manual or the Union Board Manual, Volumes I and II. Ever y police officer o f or above the rank of Assistant Sub – Inspector is expected t o be acquainted with the rules in those volumes, which are binding on the police . The regulations in this chapter are explanatory or advisor y and do not override these Manuals and Acts .

Members of the r ural police are not subj ect to the provisions of the Police Act, 1861 . They are not police officers except for purposes of the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871 ( I of 1871) . They are, however, public servants under section 21 of the Indian Penal Code .

( c) The village chaukidar is of great i mportance as an aid to police wor k. Without his assistance even the most active officer cancot know all that is going on in his j urisdiction .

The chaukidar is not a well trained or highly intelligent agent, but he i s capable of much good wor k, and the results attained depend ver y largel y on t he care, attention and tact exercised by the officer in charge of the poli ce station .

General duties of dafadars and chaukidars .

363 . (a) The general duties of dafadars and ch ukidars are set fort h in sections 39 and 40 of the Village Chaukidar i Act,1870 , in the rules in section VI of t he Chaukidari Manual , in section 23 of the Vill age Self Government Act, 1919 , in rules 36 and38 of the Chaukidari Rules framed under t hat Act and in the r ules in part III( B) of the Union Board Manual, Volume II.

(b) Under section 23( viii) of the Village Self Government Act, 1919 or section 39(9 t h ) of the Village Chaukidari Act, 1870, the officer in charge of a police station shall direct all chaukidars to bring to the station i mmediate infor mation of the occurrence of any large f ire, storm or inundation and any damage to telegraph posts or wires . He shall also require them to report i mmediatel y when the condition of any ri ver, road or crop is such that a serious calamity may be apprehended . The chauki dars of panchayati unions will be required, in addition to the above information, to report the outbreak of any epidemic among human beings or cattle and , f rom ti me to ti me, the condition of t he standi ng crops .

All officers shall be careful to enforce the responsibility of dafadars for the wor k and conduct of the chauki dars under them . If t here are t wo or more dafadars in a union, the officer -in -charge of the police -station shall endeavour to persuade the local authority of that union to define the responsibility of each dafadar. Ever y excuse or reason offered by a chaukidar for any breach of dut y shall as far as possible be ver ified either by the dafadar concerned or by a member ,of the p olice -station staff .

Any report received either from the dafadar or the panchayat about the disappearance of,

or damage to, the village boundar y mar ks, shall be entered in the general diary and forwarded to the Collector for disposal . Unless special ly ordered by the District Magist rate, the police shall not investi gate charges of mischief in respect to boundar y mar ks, but they shall, while movi ng about in the interior, see whether the mar ks are in their places and report to the Collector any defect noticed .

Promp reporting of crime to be insisted on .

364 . Under section 23(1) of the Village Self -Government Act, 1919, ever y chaukidar is bound to gi ve infor mation to the officer -in – charge of the police -station and to the president of the union board of ever y unnatural, suspicious or sudden death which may occur and any offence in Schedule II of the Act which may be committed within the union and must also keep the police infor med of all disputes likel y to lead to a r iot or serious affra y. If, however, by going fir st to the president he will be delayed in goi ng to the police, he should send infor mation to the president through another chaukidar or other person and shall hi mself proceed direct to the police – station . Chauki dars who delay t o bring infor mation of matters which require to be promptl y report ed render themsel ves liable to dismissal . Wilful Police Regulations Bengal 1943

omission . to perfor m duties, is punishable under sections 166, 170 and 202 of the Indian Penal Code .

If it is manifest that there has been deliberate delay in reporting a serious occurrence or the likelihood of a serious breach of the peace or that infor mation has been actuall y suppressed, the Superintendent wIl l apply for the prosecut Ion of the chaukidar concerned and instruct the Court officer to press for an exemplar y punishment . Chaukidars, when travel1ing by r oad, should go at a rate of not less than 2 ½ miles an hour.

Use of the telegraph by the rural police .

365 . (a) All dafadars and chaukidars shall give i mmediate inti mation by tel egram or the next quickest available method, to the nearest police -station, about the li kelihood of riots, the intention to commit heinous cri me, the prcsence of suspicious characters, the occurrence of serious cri mes, such as murder, dacoit y , rioting wi th murder, robbery, drugging and the like, all other cases in whi ch they consider that immediate inti mation should be conveyed t o the police . They shall also use the telegraph freely for the purpose of preventing the escape of absconders .

The obj ect of sending telegrams is threefold . In the first place, on receipt of a telegram, the investigating officer will reach the place of occurrence with the least possible delay, and will thus have the opportunity of preventing riots and heinous offences ; in the second, he will be able to apprehend suspicious characters; in the third, if the offenders are known t o be

absconding, and the dafadar or chaukidar can for m a conclusion as as to the direction in

which they have gone, a telegram sent to a police officer a t a pol ice -station, railway st ation or ghat, gi ving a description of the man wanted and the offence with which he is charged,

may not infrequentl y be successful in securing his apprehension . Where necessary, telegraphic infor mation can also be sent to a ne i ghbouring dafadar or chaukidar, if, by. so doing, it is thought pr obable that the arrest of an absconder mi ght be effected .

It may be desirable to send more than one telegram in certain cases, for instance, if a murder has occurred and the murderer i s abscondiing by rail, the dafadar or chaukidar should send a telegram not only to the officer -in -charge of the police -station within which the crime has been committed, but should also telegraph to the police of the place to which he thinks that the offender may be going, so that he may, if possible . be intercepted . If the dafadar or chaukidar is not sure whether there is a poli ce -station at the place to which the absconder is believed to be going, he should telegraph to the Superintendent of the District Police or to the Superintendent of the Railway Police .

Dafadars and chaukidars are per mitted to make use of Government and Railway telegraphs without prepayment for all messages which relate to their police duties . These messages are of t wo kinds, viz . , (i) ordinary telegrams, and (ii) special police telegr ams . Special police telegrams shalL be sent only in cases of real emergency, but when it is necessary to send a t elegram during the hours when a telegraph office is closed, a special police message s hall i nvariabl y be sent . In such a case, the dafadar or chaukidar shall get his message mar ked “Special Police,” and the telegraph official is bound to accept it at any hour of the day or ni ght . All telegrams shall be marked “State,” and when an express . m eassage is sent, the wor ds “Speci al Police,” shall be endorsed upon it .

Telegrams shall be worded as briefl y as possible, and, except in cases where an absconder is to be arrested, shall usually not contain details of names of parties, etc,

Officers -in -charge of Government and Railway telegrahp off ices have been direct ed to write out on telegraph for ms in English any infor mation which a dafadar or chaukidar desires to send by telegram.

Dafadars and chaukidars sending messages about the . preve ntion or detection of crime shall gi ve their names, designations and addresses in the body of the telegram. In the space allotted for “si gnature” (and which will not be si gnalled), they shall also gi ve their names, designations and addresses! in full, incl udi ng the name of the police -station and distri ct . A dafadar or chaukidar shall aJso in all cases affix his left thumb i mpression to the message . If he is illtterate, he shall see that the above details are entered on his behalf by the writer of the telegram . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

When proceeding t o send a telegram, dafadars, or chaukidars shall wear their uniform, or shall come with their appoint ment letter, which they -shall show to enable the Post and Telegraph Master to identify them.

(i ) Dafadars and chaukidars are en j oined to use the telegraph freely in connection wit h the prevention and detecti on of cri me, but they shall remember that the use of the telegraph must be confined strictly to that obj ect, and that the privilege of using t he telegraph free of charge does not extend to other subj ects .

(j ) Rewards shall be freely paid to dafadars and chaukidars who send telegrams freel y.

Payment of charges for telegrams sent by rural police .

366 . On receipt of the original telegram for ms used for such messages from the Go vernment or the Railway Telegraph offices the Superintendent shall at once stamp it with service

stamps to the amount indicated for payment and shall return it to the Telegraph or Postal or Railway official concerned within 48 hours . A Superintendent may not refuse to affix stamp to a message, but if he considers that the message should be questioned, he shall write at once to the Telegraph official concerned and say that the message has been stamped . but it has been detained for the purpose of enqui ry. Th e enquiry shall be made urgently, and the message shall be returned to the official in charge of the Telegraph office concerned as soon as the enquiry is complete . Superintendents shall not challenge such messages unless i t is obvious that the message had nothing to do with Government busi ness, and referred only to a private matter, in which case recover y shall be made from t he dafadar or chaukidar concerned and credited to the treasur y.

Employment of rural police outside their beats .

367 . (a) Union boards have been instructed to order their chaukidars never to leave their beats at ni ght except withr the per mission of the president or, in urgent cases, under the direct orders of a police officer. The boards are also instructed to direct their chaukidar s t o perfor m such patrol duties at night for the security of the life and property of the resi dents of the union . Police officers should, therefore, avoid taking a chaukidar away from his union as far as possible, and never without consulting the president ex cept in matters of great urgency. When the matter is so urgent that there is no ti me to consult the president , the police officer shall infor m the president of his action as soon as possible . When for the prupose of the better controlling of a cri me centre it is desirous to concentrate chauki dars over a wider area than theit own union, it should be possible for the officer in charge of a police -station by tactful explanation to satisfy the members of the union boards concerned that it is in the interests of their residents that this should be done .

Chaukidars and dafadars may be employed in guarding the railway line when Royalty, the Viceroy or the Gover nor are travelling, pr ovided the officer employing them sends due infor mation to the president of the union board or the president – panchayat, as the case may be . (See rule 45 of the Union Board Manual, Volume II. )

Rural police not to the employed on menial duties .

368 . Police officers ar e prohibited from employing dafadars and chau kidars on their private concerns or any duties of a menial or degrading ki nd . Superintendents shall see that the order is obeyed and shall make it special subj ect

. of enquir y when inspecting a police -station and shall also mention it in their annual repor t .

Method of hold – ing chaukidari parades .() .

369 . (a) The rules for holding chaukidari parades . are laid down i n the Union Board and the Chaukidari Manuals .

The cbaukidari par ade shall be held at such an hour as to admit of chau kidars returning to their village by sunset, if possible . And in or der to ensure this, chaukidars shall be Police Regulations Bengal 1943

compelled to be punctual . It is equally essential that the porice officers shall also be punctual and should not detain chaukidars unnecessarily.

( c) The officer in charge shall preside at t he parade, and shall not delegate this dut y to a subordinate officer, except for ver y good r easons, which shall be recorded in the general diary.

Ever y chaukidar and dafadar attending t he parade shall be in un ifor m. Parade shall be hel d in the police -station compound .

(f ) The chaukidars having assembled, thei r attendance shall be recorded in the attendance register (B . P. For m No . 63) by the officer holding the parade, black ink entries being made in the case of those who are present, while red ink shall be used f or absentees . The names of all chaukidars absent f rom the muster parade, whose absence is unexplained, shall be entered in the general diar y i mmediatel y after the parade . , A monthl y st atement of t he chauki dars whose absence during the month is unexplained or unsatisfactorily explained shal l be submitted to the punishing authorit y in the f irst week of the following month in B . P. For m No . 64 .

(g) Rewards to chauki dars of panchayati unions shall be d istributed by the presiding off icer at a pay parade at the police -station .

Information to be obtained at chukidari parades . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 .]

370 . (a) . After recor ding attendance, the officer holding the parade shall question the chaukidars present as to whether they have any reports to make on the following points: –

births; deaths; epidemics; fires;

the state of cr ops : ( vi) cattle disease ; obstruction to tel egraph wires ; inj ury to sur vey pillars, Government t rees, bridges, etc; the arri va1 of foreigners, swindlers, or criminal tribes in their villages ; the movements of bad characters ;(xi ) visits of suspicious persons or registered bad characters to thei r villages ; persons suspected of c attle poisoning ; loss or straying of cattle ; the arri val of any suspicious boats ;

the existence of any dispute li kel y to lead to a breach of the peace ; (xvi ) encroachments on, and inj uries to, public roads; and

any other matter regarding which the officer holding the parade may wish or have been ordered to obtain infor mation .

Note . – Infor mation regarding points (i) and (ii) shall onl y be collected in the rural areas referred to in regulation 234 . Infor mation regarding unnat ural deaths must, of course, be insisted upon in all ar eas since this dut y is imposed upon the village police by section 45 of the Code of cri minal Procedure .

The subj ects on which infor mation is required, as specified in clause (a) above, are intended to be of general application, and not to meet the special requirements of particular areas . District Magist rates are at libert y to pre – scribe further questions, but it is desirable that the number of questions should be strict ly li mited, and to prevent such special questi ons being coutinued after they are no longer required, they should be sanctioned onl y for a specified time, after which they should be reconsidered . Infor mation obtained in answer to

questions specially prescribed by the District Magist rate shall be entered in the general diary.

All chaukidars having infor mation to give on any particular subj ect shall stand up and remain standing until their infor mation has been recorded . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Any dafadar or chaukidar having any infor mation to gi v e as to i tems (x), to (xvi), and any other men whom the officer holding the parade wishes to interr ogate, shall be ordered to fallout and their infor mation elicited from t hem, out ‘of hearing of the rest, so that they may understand that it wil l be kept as far as possible confidential . The remainingi chaukidars shall then be allowed to depart . Those det ained as above shall not be kept longer than is absolutely necessar y” These enquiries shall always be made by the officer in charge when he is present at the police -station and the fact noted in the general di ary. The questions not ed in items (i) to (ix) above may be put by the second officer or the Assi stant Sub – Inspector under his supervision, provi ded that the officer in ‘charge acquaints hi mself with the i nfor mation elicited . If the officer in charge does not hi mself question the chaukidars who have infor mation to gi ve privatel y, he shall expl ain his Teason for not doing so in the general diary.

The infor mation obtained under items ( i ) and (ii ) in clause (a) above shall be enter ed in the registers of births and deaths, that obtai ned under other heads in the general diar y. i tems (ix), (. x), (xi ) and (xv) being also entered in the Village Cri me Not e -Book.

When birth and death reports are called for, each chaukidar shall hand in his hath – chitta . These hath – chittas, whether containing entr ies or not, shall be authenticated by the si gnature of a member of the Union Board or panchayat, and shall be brought in by chaukidars even when blank. Fresh ent ries shall be transcribed into the registers of births . and deaths while the parade is going on .

Chaukidars shoul d be catechised to ascertain whether they are acquainted with the absconders, proclai med offenders . released convicts, suspected characters a nd lathials residing or having relations in their villages .

Complaints by chaukidars of non -payment of salaries should be entered in the general diary, after chaukdiari parade which will be available for reference when enquiries into a police complai nt regar ding non -payment of chaukidars’ salaries are made .

Attendence of circle and excise officers at chaukidari parades .

371 . (a) Circle officer s are required by the Provincial Government to pay special attention to the wor k of chaukidar s and they are encour aged to attend chauki dari parades at the police – stations as well as at the union board offi ces, At the police -stat ion parades circle off icers will be in a position t o learn the infor mation required by the poli ce and will then be able to assist them in obtaini ng it from the chauki dars and the presidents of union boards . Police officers should,therefore, co -operate with circle officers and should keep them fully infor med of anything that they require in the way of special infor mation and of any def ects in the wor king of any particular chaukidar or chaukidars .

Excise officers ar e also per mitted to attend chaukidari parades to explain matter s to chaukidars and dafadars, and to obtain fr om them infor mation of any offence against the excise laws .

Neglectful chaukidars to be reported for punishment .

372 . (a) Officers of police when investigati ng any robber y, burgl ary, theft or other off ence shall ascertain whether the chaukidar was present at his post when the offence was perpetrated ; if not, t he cause of his absence, and whether there . may be reason to bel ieve that he was hi mself concerned in, or conni ved at, the commission of the cri me . In the event of, any neglect or suspicion of cri minality attaching to a chaukidar, the officer in charge of a police -station shall forward a report to the Superintendent . When reporting chauki dars to the Superintendent for punishment, police off icers shall clearly st ate the nature of off ence, recording the statements of any person who may be acquainted with the par ticulars of the Police Regulations Bengal 1943

case, and taking down the de £ ence of the chaukidars . If the chaukidar has been reported or punished on any for mer; occasion, the fact should also be noted .

A serious riot, particularly one connected with the land, seldom occurs all on a s udden without previous preparation . When, therefore, such a riot occurs as to which the chaukidar has gi ven no previous infor mation to the police, the chaukidar ‘s explanation shall be taken and submitted to the Superintendent . if such riots frequently occu r in any police -station, without the officer in charge having any pr evious knowledge of t heir likelihood to arise, it may – be taken as an almost certain indication that the officer is apathetic or incapable .

Rules in the Union Board Manual, Volume II, and the Chaukidari Manual contain instructions relating t o the reporting of chaukidars’ offences and the occasions for and scales of . punishments .

– REGISTERS AND RECORDS, REPORTS AND RETURNS .

Registers and files .

373 . (a) A list of registers and fi les to be maintained at each police -station and outpost (including floating out post) is given in Appendix X III.

In the following r egulations are gi ven i nstructions’ regarding certain of the registers and files not dealt with elsewhere .

General rules as to registers . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861 . ]

374 . (a) No alterations in the for m or mode of keeping the registers and files or preparing or rendering the returns mentioned in Appendi x X II, and no addition to their number, may be made without the previous sancti on of the Inspector -General .

Registers issued t o police -stations shal l bear a certificate under the hand of the head clerk on the inside of the cover as to the number of pages they contain . No certificate is required in the case of registers in which t he numbers of the pages are already printed . No page may be torn out of a station register. Any correction which it may be necessar y to make in any station register shall be made by drawing a line through the mistake, so as to leave the word erased legibl e, and by writing the corrected word afterwards or in the margin . A piece of paper shall not be pasted over a mistake .

All entries shall be neatl y and clearly written, and all corrections shall be attested by the signature of the officer making them. If words or lines are omit ted from an entr y, or if an entry is omitted altogether, no interpolation shall be made . The omissions shall be supplied by a fresh entry in t he regular course . English fi gures alone shall be used in all off icial papers and regis ters .

Station officers shall not rewrite registers without the written permission of the Superintendent .

Note . -Seals of a unifor m pattern have been provided for all offices and no deviation shall be allowed from the sanct ioned desi gn when seals are renewed or new seals are procured .

Record of lands and buildings .

375 . At ever y police -station a record of lands and buildings rel ating to the police -st ation concerned shall be

maintained . It shall consist of : –

(l ) An extract in B . P. For m N’o . 239 from the register of lands and buildings kept in the office of the Superintendent . The amount spent on repairs each year shall be entered in it to Police Regulations Bengal 1943

enable Subdi visional Police Officers, Inspectors and other inspecting officers to check the estimates for annual r epairs ;

an accurate site pl an of all the land in possession of the depar tment with boundaries and boundar y pillars . This should be a tracing of any correct and certified plan kept in the office of the Superintendent .

N o t e . -No such register need be maintained in railway ploice -stations .

Registers of letters received and dispatched.

376 . (a) Two registers shall be kept in Bengal For ms Nos . 16 and 19 in which shal l be included all orders, legal processes , as well as other cor respondence re cei ved and dispatched . The regist ers shall be written up by the Assistant Sub -Inspector, but this shall not relieve the officer in charge of the responsibility of opening, dating and attending to the, dak personall y,

The register of letters received shall be divided into as many parts as required by the nature of the correspondence : thus -(i ) Orders from courts and Magistrates . Depart mental orders .

Enquir y slips . (iv) Miscellaneous .

Such papers as are registered elsewhere, such as first infor mation reports, . final memorandum, etc . , shall not be entered in this register.

The general diary.

377 . (a) The general diary as prescribed under section 44, Police Act, 1861, and sections 154 and 155, Code of Cr iminal Pro cedure, shall be kept in B . P. For m No . 65 at all pol ice – stations . The officer i n charge is responsibl e that it is punctuall y and correctl y written . He shall himself make al l but the routine entries . The diary shall be written in duplicate with carbon paper. Each book shall contain 200 pages, dul y numbered .

Ever y occurrence which may be brought to the knowledge of the officers of police shall be entered in the diar y at, the ti me at whi ch it is communicated to the station, and if no incident be communi cated during the day, this fact shall be noted in the diary before it is closed and despatched .

In it shall be recorded, as concisel y as is compatible with clearness, all complaints and charges preferred, whether cogni zable or not, the names of the co mplaints, the names of all persons arrested, the offences charged against them, the weapons or property of which the

police have taken possession, and the names of the witnesses who have been, exami ned . In the case of a person arrested, his name, the, numb er of the case in which arrested, the dates of arrest and receipt in the station lock -up, the date and hour when forwarded to, the court, and the expenses, if any, incurred in feeding shall be noted .

The fact of enquiries having been made regarding a bsconders and sur veilles shall be briefly noted . A note of the number and date of entries in thse diary shall also be made in the registers where detailed entries are made . If help is gi ven to excise officers in the detection or precention of excise offen ces, t he fact shall be noted .

Infor mation sbtained in regard to the following mat ters relating to general administration shall also be entered: –

The state of crops . roads, rivers, bridges, railway fences, Government buildings, £ erries . embankments, t rees, t elegraph lines, etc . ; t he occurrence of large fires inundations, st or ms, railway Or other serious accidents; the outbreak, prevalence, or cessation of Cholera, Small Pox, Fever or other epidemic disease; serious cattle disease; the passage through, or gat her – ing together within, the li mits of the station circle of largq bodies of people; the arri val and despatch of prisoners; the receipt and disbursement Or transmission of cash; particulars of taking and making over charge; distributi on of dut y amon gst officers, change 0 £ police – Police Regulations Bengal 1943

station sentr y ; the holding of parade, qui nine parade, kit inspection, barrack inspect ion; departure’ and arrival of officers to and £ rom the mufassil, Or on or from leave; transfer s and new arrivals of officers; misconduct or instances of meritorious behaviour on the part of subordinates; assistance rendered by panchayats or members 0 £ union boards in all matters not connected with t he actual investigation of cases; arri val and despatch of the mail; submission of periodical returns, and the i mpart –

ing of instruction in drill, procedure and other duties to constables; all in £ ormation as to threatened disturbances; attendance of dafadars and village . chaukidars, the infor mation furnished by them at mus~er parade or otherwise obtained regarding the presence of suspicious characters, gamblers, swindlers, foreigners or members of wanderingj tribes; the occurrence of any suspicious deaths amongst cattle; the presence 0 £ strange boats at vil lage ghats, and the disappearance of any therefrom, and the result of enquir y, if any’ made, regarding them by daf adars and chaukidars, if such ,infor mation has not been entered in the Village Cri me Note Book .

(f ) Whenever any escort over treasure or prisoners passes a police -station or outpost , whether the escort be of that district or of any other, the fact shall be entered in the diary, and the officer in charge shal l enter and put the date and hour on the command certificate of the escort . In the case of escorts over prisoners, an entr y shal l be made in the diar y if the prisoners are £ ed, what food was gi ven and who ,vere present at t he ti me .

Ever y entr y made in the diar y shall be gi ven a marginal heaking in as few wor ds as possible, and shall be numbered in a mont hly series and attest ed by the si gnature of the officer in charge at the tiem.

An entry in the diary does not obvi ate the necessity of a separate report of any occurrence which is required . by rule or order to be speciall y report ed .

The collection and communication of int elligence on all matters of public i mportance is one of the principal duties of the police, and the manner in which this duty is perfor med by an off Icer in charge of a station will generally be manifested in his general diaries . Off icers shall, therefore, endeavour to render their diaries as complete, but at the same ti me as con –

cise, as possible .

(j ) The diary shall be completed, and a copy of it despatched in a cover to the address of the Circle Inspector one hour before the depar ture of the post, w hat ever ti me that may be,and shall be a complete record of all occurrences during the previous 24 hours . It is not necessary that the diar y should commence and end with the day , but a note shall be made in the last entry stating t hat the diary has been cl osed for the previous 24 hours . At district and subdivisional head quarters, the diarv shall be closed and di spatched at 08 -00, so that extracts from it may appear in the dail y report of the same day .

The diary shall also be maintained at each outpost and be written by the officer in charge with carbon paper. In addition to entries concerning patrol wor k,the diary shall contain infor mation r egarding i mportant matters comi ng to notice and the presence of suspicious characters, gamblers, swindle rs,’ forei gners or members of wandering gangs . Cases that may be reported to such outpost shall also be recorded but no details need be gi ven except a statement on the following l ines: ” A . B . came to the outpost at 08 -00, and reported a burglar y in his ho use last ni ght . The complainant is sent with constable X . Y. to the police -station . ” The diar y shall be submitted dail y to the off icer in charge of the parent police – station where it shall be perused and filed after necessar y action has been taken . If these diaries are written in Hindi, officers i n charge of police -stations will have them r ead out to them by one of their up -country const ables . ,

Register of absconded offenders and escaped convicts living or having connections in the station circle .[12 Act V, 1861] Police Regulations Bengal 1943

378 . (a) The register ( in B . P. For m No . 66) shall be divided into two parts . In Part I will be entered the names of all escaped convicts and absconded offenders, irrespecti ve of where they have committed crime , whose usual residence is withi n the station j urisdiction in which the register is kept . T his register must tally with the entries for the station made in the Superintendent ‘s register with which it will be compared once a year. (See regulation 1118 . )

Part II will contain t he names of escaped . convicts and absconded offenders (i ) who have committed cri me within the station j urisdiction, but whose residence is either unknown or within some other station j urisdiction; (ii) . who have relatives or connections li ving i n the station j urisdic tion irrespective of the mace where cri me was committed, In the case of absconders charged with crime committed within railway li mits the’Superintendent of Railway Police will send their rolls to the Superintendent of Pol ice of the district in which the absconder li ves, either per manentl y or temporaril y, or in which he has relations or connections . The district Superintendent wil l have the particulars entered in the register kept in his own office and in the police -stations concerned .

For the purposes of this register the foll owing persons shall be considered as absconded offenders: –

(i ) Persons charged with cogni zable offences, against whom . ther e is evidence sufficient to warrant their trial, and who are at large when charge sheet is submitted on c ompletion of the police enquir y.

Persons who have escaped from police custody, or from a j ailor lock – up .

Accused persons for whom proclamation has been issued under section &7, Code of Cri minal Procedure .

(iv) Persons who are on bail in cogni zable cases or cases under Chapter V III of the Code of Cri minal Procedure and who fail to appear when their sureties are called upon to produce them.

No entr y will be made in the register without the’ written order of the Superintendent, which should be obitai nedl by the station off icer as soon as it appears that a warrant of arrest issued or which may be issued in a cognizable case cannot be executed or whenever a proclamation issued under section 87, Code of Cri minal Procedure, has been published .

Periodical search and enquir y will be made for each absconder whose name is in the register, and the date and results of such enquiry will be entered on the back of the page on

which his name is, together with the names of two respectable residents pre sent at the time of the enquir y. The off icer in charge of the police -station where the absconder is wanted will also arrange si multaneous “drives” at irregul ar intervals at all places where he is li kel y t o be found .

Note . -As a large number of people li vi ng i n Bengal have relations living in Calcutta, the Calcutta Police do not maintain a list of absconders who have relations or connections living within their j urisdiction . In consequence it is not possible for t he Calcutta Police to make quarterly enquiri es about such indi viduals . .

The capture of an escaped convict or absconded offender should be promptly reported to the Superintendent, who will at once order the entr y in his own register and in those of the various police -stations to which the roll was circulated to’ be cancelled .

(f ) When a convict who has escaped from the Andamans is . arrested, he will be produced before a Magistrate, together with the notice in the Cri mi nal Intelligence Gazette regar ding his escape, and the Magistrate will deci de whether there is any reason why the convict should not be removed in custody under section 86, Code of Criminal Procedure, to the Magistrate at the Andamans who issued the warrant . If no notice regarding the escape has been published in the Criminal Int elligence Gazette, the Court officer will apply t o the Magistrate for an adj ournment to enable the police to ascertain whether a warrant has been received from Port Blair for his recapture, enquiry being made from the Inspector -General . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

A police offi cer to whom a proclamation has been made over for publicat ion is responsible that the provisions of section 87, Code of Cri minal Procedure, are strictly complied with and he shall submit to the Magistrate a written report showing clearl y that the proclamation has been dul y published as required by that section .

On receipt of an order of attachment the officer incharge of the police -station shall take necessary steps to eff ect the attachment and shall submit a report in B . P. For m 67 to the Magistrate issuing the order. In maki ng the attachment, the list prepared under regul ation 323 should be made use of, and if it is found that any propert y belonging to the accused as

shown in that list, is not forthcoming, action under section’ 206, Indian Penal Cod e, should be taken against the person responsible for t he loss .

379 . (a) All propert y stolen, whether recovered or not,and all property and art icles of which the police take charge,

shall be entered In a r egister In B . P. For m No . 68 . When any such propert y is brought t o the police -station, it shall be kept in the station malkhana until it is di sposed of according to the order of the Magistr ate or court . In order to avoid loss to the parties, propert y which deteriorates ver y rapidly, such as fruit, etc . ,may be sold in anti cipation of sanction which shall be obtained as soon as possi,ble, and the sale proceeds thereof shall be sent t o the Court officer.

The ter m “stolen property” is defined in section 410, Indian Penal Code,

The amount of property to be entered as stol en and, recovered shal l be the amount accepted by the Magistrate and shown in the final memo, of the case .

When promissor y notes, bonds and other si milar propert y are stolen, onlv the intrinsic and not the nomi nal value of the article stolen shall be entered .

All unclai med property (see section 25, Police Act, 1861) shall be entered as soon as received at the police -station ; or in the case of propert y not brought to the police -station, but left where found, as soon as the report is authenticated by an officer. The provisions of sections 25 and 27, Police Act, 1861, appl y to all unclaimed proper ty of which any officer of the police may be the finder. When unclai med propert y is sold, the sale shall in all cases be held by the Sub – Inspector of the Police -station and not by an Assistant Sub -Inspector. The police shall take over unclaimed ar ms and ammunition which they find in railway trains or on railway premises . Unclai med ar ms and ammunition found by t he officers of tha railway, including Railway Police, shall be sent by them direct) to the officers appointed by Government in this behalf and not through t he police .

Suspicious propert y sei zed by the police shall be entered, and a report shall be made at once to the Magistrate unden the provisions of section 523, Code of Cri minal Procedure .

Intestate propert y taken into the charge of the police shall also be entere d . (See also regulat Ion 251 . )

Propert y, movable or i mmovable,of absconders under section . 88, Code of Cri minal Procedure, shall also be entered in this regi ster. Undi vided interests in the immovable famil y

property of an absconding person who is a me mber of an undi vided Hindu famil y can be attached under section 88 of that Code .

In the remar ks col umn shall be entered the steps taken’ for disposaI of the property and the abstract of the order of the authorit y of whom reports are sent .

When the Judge or Magistrate orders t he propert y recovered or found to be returned to its owner or to any ot her person , the receipt of the person to whom it is to be returned shall

be obtained in column 10 of the register and the date of return shall be pu t under his Police Regulations Bengal 1943

signature . If the property is sent to the court for production before the court at the time of trial or for any other purpose, a note shall be made in column 10 to that effect, gi ving the name of the constable by whom , and date on which, it w as sent . The entry shall be si gned by the officer in charge of the police -station . At the beginning of ever y month the senior station officer will gi ve a certificate that he has satisfied hi msesf that the items disposed of in the previous month have been correctl y so disposed, that the receipts for such disposal are in order and that no pr operty is unnecessaril y pending.

(i) At the end of the year all property not di sposed of shall be brought forward in red ink.

Khatian inspection register.

380 . A list of all cogni zable cases in whi ch a first infor mation is used shall be kept in chronological order in B . P. For m no . 69 . The following instructions shall be noted: –

Column 1 . — The first infor mation report shall be entered seri ally for each month, the

different columns bei ng entered according as different materials are received at the variousstages of the

case ..

Column 3 . -Cattle theft s shall be distinguished by writing’ the letters “C . T,” in red ink in this column . The value of property shall be n oted as per amount accepted by the Magistrate . In cases of refused investigation, the value shall be ordinarily that reported by the complai nant, but the opinion of the Court, if expressed, shall be followed .

Column 20 . -These shall be written in red ink in respectj of entries concerning for eign convicts or suspects .

Column 22 . -T he Inspector, while inspecting the police . ; station, shall note in this column the period for which the r ecord of the case is to be preser ved .

Column 23 . -Court ‘s comments, if a ny, shal l be entered . Cases in which Magistrate differs from the finding of police shall also be enter ed in this column .

The station statistics for the District Police shall be complied in B . P. For m No . 70 and for the Railway Police in B . P. For m NO . 71 .

Note . -The following particulars shall be written up on the inside surface of the stiffiront cover of each volume of the khatian inspecti on reigister ( B . P. For m No . 69) ; –

Police – station:

Area:

Population:

Sanctioned strength : Sub -Inspectors : Assistant Sub – Inspect ors Constables :

Actual strength :Sub -Inspectors :

Assistant Sub – Inspectors :Constables:

Lest of convicts and suspects of adjoining police – stations .

381 . A list of convict s and suspects residing in the bor der villages of all adj oining police – stations shall be kept at ever y police -station . Gazetted office rs shall, during the course of their inspections or visits, inspect these lists; ascertain if the officers attached to pol ice – stations know the crimi nals of the bordering villages, and see that these lists are brought up to date, each quarter.

Fine warrant register. Police Regulations Bengal 1943

382 . (a) A register in B . P. For m No . 72 shal l be kept for all warrants received by the police for realization of fines within the j urisdiction of the police -station . Ever y such warrant shall specify the ti me within which it shall be returne d . which ordinarily shall not exceed six months . The police shall return the warrant in due ti me, whet her the amount of the fine imposed, or any part of it, be reali zed or not . They shall not retain ti me -expired warrants in their possession or, after the w arrant has been returned, pay. any domiciliary visit t o a defaulter wIth a vIew to the realIzat Ion of any portion of the fine outstanding, unless fresh orders are issued for them to do so . Any enquiries they may make, when they have no warrant to authori ze t heir action, shall be made onl y under the order of a Magistrate with a view to ascertaining whether there are grounds for the issue of a fresh warrant . Such enquiries shall not ordinarily be made by an officer of lower rank than a Sub – Inspector .

If it appears that a defaulter can in all probability pay the amount of the fine outstanding

against hi m, the poli ce officer shall forthwith report the matter to the Magistrate having j urisdiction with a vi ew to the issue of a warrant . in other cases he shall merel y not e “no assets” in the remar ks column, dating the ent ry.

When afresh warrant (subsequent to the first) is obtained, it shall be entered in the register in red ink and be; treated as a fresh entr y, reference being made in the remarks column to the year and number of the ori ginal warrant .

In the event of the death of a defaulter being reported” one final and for mal enquir y shall be made as to whether he has left anywhere property of any ki nd .

All fines realized shall ibe remit ted with the returned! warrant at once to the Magistrate’s clerk in charge of the fine regiters .

The Magistrate shall call for the register of each police – stati on at least once a quarter, and have it compared with the fine registers of his court . He shall also note that the police enquiries have been r egularl y made and properly recorded . The compar Ison shall never be made by the cler k III charge of the fine r egisters . It shall, when possible, be done by a Magis – trate, or by some other of the Magi str ate’s cler ks . The Magistrate shall pay special attention to the dut y of bring irrecoverable f ines i mposed in his di strict or in another district to the notice of the Di strict Magistrate concerned with a view to t heir remission and removal from the register ,

Entries in the station register regarding reaiization of fines imposed in other districts, or in a sub -di vision of the same district, shall be compared once a quarter with the Magistrate’s cash -book.

Enquiries to be made when executing fine warra nt issued under the Railways Act, 1890 .

383 . When a police officer , who has been ordered to execute a fine warrant issued under the Indian Railways Act, 1890 , is unable to trace the accused at t he address gi ven, he must obtain from the president of the union board , or from another gentleman of si milar stat us in the locality, a certificate that the indi vidual named in the warr ant does not reside at the address gi ven .

List of persons exempted or licensed under Arms Act .

384 . (a) Officers in charge of police -stations shall be supplied wit h list of persons exempted from the operation of the Indian Ar ms Act, 1878, to enable them to ascertain whether any particular person is or is not exempted .

(b) A list of persons li censed to carr y or possess ar ms shall be kept at each police -station in B . P. Form No . 73 . T he entries shall be arranged village by vi llage, the villages being grouped according to unions . Additions and alterations in lists of licences made during the year shall be repor ted promptl y by District Magistrates to officers in charge of poi lce – Police Regulations Bengal 1943

stations and a list of unrenewed licences shall also be furnished to, police -station officers at the end of the year as renewal of licences is over. To guard against the possibility of omission on the part of District Officers to send notices of additions and alterations made in the list to station officers and of the infor mation thus received not being entered in the lists at police -stations, tlie District Magistrate shall send an up -to -dat e copy of the list annually to the officer in charge of each police – st ation who shall retur n the same to the Di strict Magistrate after making necessar y corrections in his register.

In November of ever y year officers in charge of police -st ations shall report to the Superintendent (i) whether any licensee is dead, and (ii) whether there is any obj ection to the renewal of any li cense . They need not , however, comment on the suitability of each licensee on the list, but state, when definite obj ection is taken t o the renewal of a license, the grounds of this obj ection . The Superintendent shall forward these reports with his remar ks to the District Magistrate for orders . If any license is cancelled, the licensee shall be called upon to deposit his arms a nd license at the nearest police – station within 14 days after receipt of notice .

List of conditionally released convicts [ $ 12, Act V,1861 . ]

385 . Officers in charge of police -stations shall maintain a list in B . P. For m No . 74 of per sons whose sentences have been remitted or suspended under section 401, Code of Cri minal Procedure, and shall make monthl y enquiries regarding them . They will report to the Superintendent any fai lure on the part . of the released convict to f ulfil the conditions of his release . This list shall be exami ned at the ti me of inspection .

List of approvers . [ $ 12, Act V, 1861. ]

386 . (a) The station officer shall maintain a list of approvers r esiding in his j urisdiction together with their history sheets, and keep a close watch on the m. Enquiries regarding t heir conduct and mode of life shall be made at least once a quarter, and results noted in the history sheet . At the close of the year the station officer will submit to the Superintendent a summar y of the above notes regarding each approver.

The Supeirritendent shall keep a record of all approvers in his district in a form which will allow the annual reports, of the station officers to be incor porated . He will take his register with hi m when inspecting the police -station to see that no case was overlooked .

Minute Book.

387 . Each police -station shall maintain a minute book in B . P. For m No . 75 in which police officers visiting the st ation may record any requisition or suggestion concerning prevent ion or detection of cri me . Suc h requisitions or suggestions recei ved f rom other police officers, circle officers or presidents of union board may also be noted in the minute book by the officer in charge of t he police -station . The action taken in each case shall be noted in its proper column . Minut e books shall be examined frequentl y by superior officers of poli ce in order to ensure that pr ompt and proper action is taken .

Gang record, ( . )

388 . At each police -st ation such extracts from the Superintendent ‘s gang registe r as concern it shall be maintained .

Enquiry slips, (),

389 . (a) When in the course of an investi gati on or at any other ti me, a police officer requires infor mation from the officer in charge of any other police -station regarding an absc onder or any other matter connected with the cri minal administration of his j urisdiction except in enquiries regarding the movements of bad characters, he shall address an enquir y slip to hi m Police Regulations Bengal 1943

in B . P. For m No . 76 or No . 77 . For m No . 76 shall be used in addr es sing officers within and outside the province and For m No . 77 for enquiries from the Calcutt a Police .

Each slip shall bear a serial number according to the date of issue and shall be enter ed in red ink in the register of letters received or despatched , as the case may be; if the enquiry relate to an absconder, the nature of the crime with which he i s charged shall be cl early noted . On recei ving an enquir y slip back with the repl y, it shall be pasted on the foil from which it was ori ginally torn . Office rs recei ving enquiry slips shall treat them as urgent, and deal with them with the greatest possible despatch . If the slip is not received back quickly, a reminder should be issued, but if in the case of a slip sent out of the province any subsequent reminder is necessar y, the officer in charge shall at once bring it to the notice of his Superintendent with a request to communicate with the Superi ntendent of the province concerned for earl y return of the slip .

Crime map. [§12,ActV, 1861 . )

390 . (a) Vandyked copies of thana maps, scale 1 inch to the mile, issued by the Director of Land Records and Sur veys, shall be used as crime maps in all police -stations other than town stations, for which town or municipal maps are to be used . A new map shall be used ea ch year. For this purpose: the j urisdiction vandyked maps for 5 years’ use shall be supplied to each police -station . They shall be attached t o slips of paper placed inside the binding of two card -board covers and entitled “Cri me Maps” . There will thus be a series of cri me maps indicating, as each year is filled up, the crime of the police -station during each of a number of years .

Reported cases of dacoity, burglar y for committing theft and house thefts onl y shall be entered on the map in proper places, th e for mer in black ink and the two latter in red . The initial letter of the crime, viz . , D -Dacoi ty , B -Burglar y, T- T heft shall be used for the purpose and underneath the initial letter, the number and month of the case shall be given . Thus D -2 . 2 will si gni fy dacoit y case No . 2 of Februar y, B -4 . 5 will mean burglar y case No . 4 of May, and so on . When more than one section applies to an offence, the initial letter denoting the maj or crime onl y shall be writt en . Superintendents may enter other cases in the crime map, with appr opriate symbols onl y if they consider such cases worthy of special attention in any particular area . A red cross (X) shall be made to show where sur veilles l ive .

Besides the vandyked cri me map, a printed thana map, backed with strong canvas, shall also be maintained so as to be readil y available for use . On it shal l be mar ked in colours, as far as possible, liquor shops, public ferries, the boundaries of unions, and any other feature of i mportance which t he superintendent may think fit to order .

Village Crime Note – Book ,[ §12, Act V,1861]

391 . (a) In order to deal effectivel y with crime it is necessary to have a continuous and per manent record of t he cri minal history of indi viduals and local ities . To secure this, there shall be maintained for each village or other administrative area which may be chosen as the unit for the purpose, a “Village Cri me Note -Book” which will contain infor mation about crime and cri minals, i ncluding convicts and suspects . It B . P. Form Nos . 78 -83 ( I -V) at each district police -station . It is maintained under the provisions of section 12 , Police Act , 1861 , and shall be treated as an unpublished official records relating to affairs of State It is a confidential and privileged document and is not to be exhi bited in court without the per mission of the head of the office, and no Judge can compel its production except with the same per mission (section 165, Indian Evi dence Act , 1872) . It is open to inspection by magisterial and police authorities, but no outside r shall see i t or obtain copies of its contents .

Note . — If a court directs the production of the Village Cri me Not e -Book, or any part of it, police officers concerned will act as laid down in section 123 and 162 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

The Village Cri me Note -Book shall be di vided into the followi ng parts: –

Part I. -The Cri me Register, which will deal with professional cri me occurring in the ar ea . Part II . -The Convicti on Register, which will contain details of convictions of persons as specified in regulation 394 .

Part III . – The Village History, which will contain notes on special outbreaks of cri me in the village, etc .

Part IV . -The Histor y sheets of persons r esiding in the village who are believed t o be addicted to professional crime , with an index at the beginning .

Part IV A . – Comprises sheets containing enquiries about and movements of sur veilles .

Part V. – An index of convicted persons whose names have been entered in Part II as well as of persons suspected in cases, but not convic ted ..

N o t e . – – A Cri me Note – Book shall be opened for municipal towns and theee regulations shall be applied so far as applicable, the town out post being the unit .

(c) For facilit y of r eference an alphabet ical list of all the villages contained in the j urisdiction of the police -station, with their j urisdiction numbers, shall be prepared in manuscript in the foll owing for ms: –

Column 1 . -Name of vi llage including local name and names of any hamlets included i n the village .

Column 2 . -Jurisdiction list numbe r of village .Column 3, -Number and volume of the Village Cri me Note -Book.Column 4 . -Number of pages of Village Cri me Note -Book .

Column 5 . -Remar ks .

Village Crime Note – Book, how to be bound .[§12 . Act V, 1861) .

392 . (a) The Village Cri me Note -Book shall consist of as many volumes as there are unions or municipal towns within the station . The villages in each union or volume shall be arranged alphabetically. For each village there shall be at least one sheet each of Parts I, II and III. The forms will be provided with eyelet holes, so that more sheets can be added as occasion requires . Thus, if a union comprises 20 vill ages . this volume of the note -book shall contain at least 60 sheets and be bound as follows: –

Village A . -Parts I, II, III. -3 sheets, i . e . , 1 to 6 pages

Village B . -Parts I, II, III. -3 sheets, i . e . , 7 to 12 pages . and so on .

The sheets for each volume shall be kept in card -board covers provided with corresponding eyelet -holes; the covers are specially designed so that the sheets may be e asily taken out when required .

Parts IV and IVA which are also eyeletted shall be bound together for each convict or suspect for whom the history sheet is opened . They shall be gi ven serial numbers and kept arranged in a flat file containing all the hist or y sheets of the police -station .

Part V, which is merely an index, shall be in the for m of a separately bound register in which the names shall be alpha – betically arranged .

Spare parts shall be kept for homeless vagrants and persons convicted of off ences committed on railways .

Crime Reister, Part I .

[] .

393 . Onl y matters relating to true cases of offences named in the schedule below shal l be entered in Part I: . -: . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Columns 1 and 2 . -Require no explanation .

Column 3 . – Modus operandi should include r eferences to the way i n which the cri me appears to have been concei ved, how the place of occurrence was reconnoitred, in what way st olen property was carried off, etc .

Column 4 . -The value of propert y as declared by the Magistrate shal l be entered and not that gi ven in the first infor mation report .

Column 5 . -This column shall contain full particulars of the person suspected in the case mentioned in column 2 . Cross references to Parts II, III or IV of the same or other police – statlon registers shall be gi ven .

Schedule

Offences under Chapters X II and XV II, Indian Penal Code, punishable with whippi ng or with i mprisonment for 3 years or upwards .

Personating a publ ic servant, etc . – Sections 170 and 172, Indian Penal Code .

Murder for gain, murder by professi onal hired assassins and murder of spies and approvers – Section 302, Indian Penal Code . Professional drugging -Section 328, Indian Penal Code .

Professional kidnapping, abduction and buying or selling of slaves or minor chil dren – Sections 363 to 373, Indian Penal Code . Professioal swindil ing. Professional mischief by killing or poisoning ani mals Section 428, Indian Penal Code . Professional forger y -Sections 465 to 469, Indian Penal Code .

Offences re lating to forger y of currency or bank notes — Secti ons 489A, 489B,489C and 489D, Indian Penal Code .

Offences relating to ar ms and ammunit ion – Sections 19 (a) ( e) and (f), 19A and 20 of the Indian Ar ms Act .

Railways -Section 126 or 127 of the Indi an Railways Act, 1890 .

Conspiracy, abet ment and attempt in r espect of offences mentioned in items (1) t o (11) above .

Offences under the Goondas Act, 1923 (Bengal Act I of 1923) . Offencesin connection with political agi tation . Offences under t he Telegraph wi res (Unlawful Possession) Act, (Act No . LXX IV of1950) .

Note . -First offenders dealt with by courts under section 562, Code of Cri mi nal Prosedure, shall be treated as convicted . Convictions under section 511, Indian Penal Code , in respect of any of the offences mentioned above, shall also be entered, persons sent to a lunatic asylum from a j ail irrespective of offence under whi ch convicted should al so find entr y. Abet ment in respect of any of the offences mentioned above, shall si milarl y be entered .

Conviction register, part II

394 . This part shall contain the name of every person residing in the village who has been convicted of any of the offences specified i n the schedule in the regulation above and und er the following sections of law: –

(i ) Sections 109 and 110, Code of Cri minal Procedure,(il) Sections 304, 324, 326, 327 . 329 . 332 and 333, Indian Penal Code, Sections 21, 22 and 24, Cri minal Tribes Act,

Sections 3 and 4, Bengal Cri minal La w Amendment ( Industrial Area) Act, 1942, and Section 2 . Howrah Offences Act (XXI of 1957) .

The convictions of homeless vagrants shall be entered in the spare part kept under regulation 392(b) . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Columns 1 and . 3 . -Require no explanation .

Column 2 . -Personal description shall be copied from the final memorandum in which the Court Officer writes it for the infor mation of the po!ice -station offi cer.

Column 4 . – In the case of a person convicted in the Session or High Court the name of the committing Magistrate shall also be gi ven .

Columns 5 and 7 . -Name of identifying j ail warder, notes about P. R . , P. R . /T and F. P.. date of release and name of j ail from which released, shall be entered on r eceipt of P . R . slip . Column 6 . -In case of r ecol1viction . cross ref erences shall be gi ven to the old and fresh entry, the fact being si milarl v noted in the Index ( Part V) .

Information of convicts made P. R. to be sent to station police .

395 . The Superintendent shall send infor mat ion to the police s tation officer of all convi cted persons resident in such station who have been made P . R . and the station officer shall enter the letters “F. P. ” in red ink against the names of such persons i n the Village Cri me Note – Book. The Court offi cer shall communicat e to the station officer the F . P . for mula to be noted in the conviction sheet .

Despatch of conviction or other rolls .

396 . When a person concerned in an occurrence resides within the j urisdiction of another police -station or when a convict or suspect per manentl y changes his residence to the j urisdiction of another police -station, a roll i n the for m of a loose sheet of Part I or II, as the case may be, shall be sent to the Sub -Inspector of the station concerned, who shall enter the facts in Part II or III, as the case may be, and return the roll to the issuing officer. The latter, after copying the references in his note -book, shall file it separately for destruction aft er a year. Rolls sent to police -stations outside the province sha ll be sent through the Sup6rintendent ‘s office .

If a person has resided for 5 years in a village with his famil y, he shall be regarded as a resident of that village .

Action on receipt of P. R. slip.

397 . On receipt of a P. R . slip (r elease notice) of a convict from a jailor penal settlement, the station officer shall note the necessar y particulars in Parts II and IV, and ascertain whether the released convict has returned to and int ends to reside in his village or not . In case he does not return, the st ation officer shall report the fact to the Superintendent, in order that orders may issue for the entry of the convi cts’s name in the stati on in which he may have taken up his residence . When the date of release shall have been entered i n the police – station register and the convict shall have r eturned home, the P. R . slip shall be returned to the Superintendent ‘s office with a report of these facts anti the number of the entr y in the register endorsed on it .

Elimination of namee from co nviction register.

398 . Names of deceased persons and of per sons who have attained the age of 60 years, but have not been convicted or suspected dur Ing the precedmg ten years, and of persons who have attained the age of 50 years, but have not been convicted or suspected during the preceding 20 years, shall be struck out under the orders of the Superintendent . At the close of each year all station officers shall submit lists of persons whose names have been removed during the year to th e headquarters Court officer, who shall make the necessar y correct ions in his index and conviction register and forward the – list to the Superintendent . The Superintendent, after satisfying hi mself that the conviction registers and the indexes have Police Regulations Bengal 1943

been corrected, shall then file the lists in his office and shall infor m the Finger Print Bureau in B . P. For m No . 84 regarding all those who are P. R .

Special Criminal Intelligence Bureau elimination list .

399 . A separate list containing the eli minated names of onl y those classes of cri minal s as are gi ven in Appendix XXXII shall be prepare by each station officer and submitted to the Super Intendent ‘s office, where a consolidated list for the whole district shall be prepared and sent direct to the officer in charge of the Cri minal Intelligence Bureau not later than lst Februar y . The police – station lists shall be submitted through the Circle Inspector, who shall scrutinize them before forward – ing to the Superintendent ‘s office .

Ammanded version of the rule 399(a)as per G.O.No.3409PL/PSC – 20/50, dated 25.8.1951.

Regulation 399(a) -Insert the following as serial (4) under the modifications:-

The lanyard shall be of khaki colour both in the review order and Working dress.

Village History , Part lll .

400 . The infor mation to be en tered in this part shall be obtained from all reliable sources that are available and shall go back as many years as possible . When once the histor y has been written up, it shall be added to from ti me to ti me by t he station officer as fresh infor mation is obbtained or fresh events occur.

History sheets, Part IV .

401 . (a) Histor y sheet s shali contain a short account of the life of the person to whom t hey relate and all facts likel y to have a bearing on his cri minal history. They shall be opened only for persons who are, or are likel y to become, habitual cri minals or the aiders or abettors of such cri minals . The conviction of a person for a heinous offence, such as ro bbery , dacoity, serious burgl ary or recei ving stolen propert y, will ordinarily be sufficient to j ustify the opening of a history sheet , unless there be reason to believe t hat although convicted of one, of these offences, the man is not a habit ual criminal . For instance, a histor y sheet would not be opened for a man who, though convicted of house -breaking, is believed to have committed the offence in order to carr y on an intrigue with a woman and not for the pur pose of theft . on the other hand, j f a person is suspected of being a receiver of stolen property , or of being concerned of systematic cattle theft, history sheet shall be begun, even if he has not been convicted . Histor y sheets shall not be prepared for persons dealt with as first offenders under section 562, Code of Cri minal Procedure . Pro – ceedings under section 110 of that Code, shall ordinarily not be taken until a history sheet establishes a case of badlivelihood . But if security has, in any case, been demanded from a person under section 109 or 110, Code of Cri minal Procedure, before the preparation of a history sheet, such a sheet shall at once be opened .

In all cases the or ders of the Circle Inspector shall be obtained before a histor y sheet is opened, and the Inspector ‘s’ orders shall b e confir med by the Superintendent when inspecting the station . Orders about starting histor y sheets may also be conveniently passed by the Superintendent on final memoranda . If any information favourable to an individual, whose name has been entered in the histor y sheet, is obtained, it shall be duly recorded . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

There shall be no regular watching over the movements of persons for whom history sheets are opened, unless they have been placed under sur veillance by the Superintendent, but when the officer in charge visits the village he shall make confidential enqui ries regarding the mode of life of such person, and note in the history sheets infor mation, both favourable and unfavourable, which he may obtain in this or anyother way. If the man has not been suspected of complicity in any case during any calendar year the fact shall be noted

. in his . favour at the commencement of the next calendar year .

Histor y sheets shall be consecutivel y numbered and kept together in a separate file as long as such per sons are not brought under surveillance, with an index at the beginning .

When a man, for whom a histor y sheet is maintained, leaves the li mits of one station and resides for over 3 months in another police -station within or outside the province his hi st ory sheet shall be sent to t he latter police -station . When the police -station is in another province the history sheet should be sent through the Superintendent concerned . This transfer shall be noted against the individual ‘s name in the index . Officers receiving histor y sheets shall acknowledge receipt . Such histor y sheets will be dealt with in exactly the same way as other sheets in existence in tile province, i . e . , the sheets shall be l abelled “Confidential ” and goverened by the rules existing in that provi nce .

Instructions for writing up history sheet .

402 . (a) When a person for whom a hi story sheet has been opened is p!aced under surveillance, the classification crdered shall be noted at the top against the heading “Cl ass . ” In calculating the approxi mate date of r elease, allowance shall be made for ordinary remission of sentence granted to prisoners under the Jail Code . Convictions shall be ent ered in chrono – logical order, gi ving date, name of convicting court, section and te rm of punisil ment . The actual date of release shall be noted on receipt of the P . R . slip in case of P

. R . prisoners and in ot her cases the date shall be obtained from the Court officer concer ned . The name of the j ail from which released shall also be note d below “the date . If the convict does not return home after release, the fact shall invariabl y be noted .

{b) The usual method of committing cri me, and details of any property possessed by the person, the number of persons . whom he has to maintain and hi s occupation and approximat earnings, and of cases in which he was suspected but not convi cted, shall be given in his biography in narrati ve for m.

Details of cases in which he is known to have taken part as well as of cases in which he is reasonably sus pected to have taken Part wi th the grounds for suspicion shall be entered in this part as they occur. In addition at the beginning of each year a note shall be made as to his behaviour during the preceding year with any details of permanent interest about the person’s cri minal history obtained from a per usal of the enquir y not e -sheets .

All entries shall be signed in full and dat ed .

History sheets of men placed undersurveillance .

403 . History sheets of men placed under sur veilla nce shall be removed from the main fi le of history sheets and kept in a separate file, with an alphabetical index at the beginning . This will ser ve the purposes of a sur veillance register and no other surveillance register shall be kept . When a man is r emoved from sur veillance, his histor y sheet shall be detached from this file and placed at its ori ginal place in the main file . When a sur veille leaves the ll mit s of one station and resides in another within or outside the province for over three months, hi s history sheet shall be sent to the station where he goes and the fact noted against his name in the index . When the police -stationis is in another province the hi story sheet shall be sent to the Superintendent concerned in that province . The officer in charge of the new station shall acknowledge receipt of the bistory sheet and continue to treat the surveille as a sur veille of his own police -station until he goes back to his former residence, when his histor y sheet shall be returned . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

Enquiry note – sheet, Part IVA.

404 . (a) In these sheets, which will , be at tached to the history sheets, shall be noted the movements of persons placed under sur veill ance and the result of enquiries regarding t hem. Infor mation about the various place s frequented by the cri minal, the opinion of the peopl e as to his character and doings, the visits of strangers and suspicious characters to his house, the fluctuation of cri me with his presence at or absence from any place, his st yle of living inconsistent with an honest legiti mate income . etc . , shall all be carefully collected by pri vate visits and other enqui ries and dul y noted, so that the sheet may contain full materials for instituting proceedings under the preventi ve sections of the Code of ori minal Procedure, should such be necessary.

If the suspect is found absent from home, enquiries shall be made as to his whereabouts, and if he is a member of a gang, about the whereabouts of his confederates . Enquir y slips shall freely be issued to test the trut h of any statements which may subsequently be taken .

All visits made by the station officer and by officers deputed ‘by hi m shall be entered, as well as any infor mat ion obtained at such visits, infor mation of real i mportance being incorporated in Part IV as laid down in regulation 402 .

Note . -The enquir y not e -sheet, Part IV . A, shall be preserved for three years .

Index, Part V. [] .

405 . This shall be kept in the for m of a bound register. It is the index of persons convicted as well as of persons suspected but not convict ed . For entr y of the names a sufficient number of pages shall be a!lutted to each letter. of the alphabet .

Names of those convi cted should be entered in red ink and those suspected in black. If a suspected person is subsequentl y convicted, his name should be underlined with red ink. Names should onl y be entered once and sufficient space should be left below each name . so that subsequent references can be noted in columns 4 and 5 .. In the “remar ks” column the date of birth should be noted against the names of persons convicted . Whenever the name of a person is entered in this index, a reference to the page number on which his name is noted should be gi ven . in the connected parts of the Village Cri me Note – Book.

Responsibility of gazetted officers for Village Crime Note – Book .

406 . Gazetted officers are required to pay special attention to the Village Cri me Note -Book and shall make a point of personall y making as many entries as possible in it . Th is may be either confirmator y or supplementar y of entr ies made by the staff of the police -station .

When visiting villages, local enquir y a certai n question .

Subdi visional Police Officers and Circle Inspectors shall check by proportion of the entries made in Part III relating to the village in

Periodical reports and return .

407 . (a) A list of per iodical reports and returns due from . each police -station and floating outpost is gi ven in Appendix X II.

(b) The ori ginal copy of ever y periodical r eport an d return shall be filed at the station or post, those for the various periods, weekl y, monthl y, etc . , being filed separately.

Miscellaneous returns shall be filed together monthl y.

408 . Omitted .

XI . – CASH ACCOUNT

Police – station cash account . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

409 . (a) The monthl y cash account shall be kept at each police -station in duplicate in B . P. For m No 85 . All sums received at the station, whether from the Superintendent ‘s office, from civil courts to be forwarded to the sadar station, small j udicial fin es realised, cash stolen and recovered, or from any other source whatever, shall be entered’ i n the cash account . Should any sum have been omitted, the officer responsiole shall be severel y punished .

The name of all the payees need not be entered in column 8 . A separate voucher shall be maintained for eack day’s disbursements of the money recei ved under each receipt cheque . It will be sufficient if only the first name on the voucher is shown in column 8 after adding the words “and others” . In column 10 shall be shown ori1y the daily total against each receipt cheque .

A receipt cheque i n Bengal For m No . 39 shall be gi ven to the i ndividual from whom or to the office from which money is recei ved at the station and therefore each item of receipt ihall be supported by the duplicate of the receipt cheque, the number of which shall be entered in column 2 of the cash account .

A regular receipt in printed form shal l be obtained for all money sent out from the station .

All receipt vouchers shall be numbered i n a monthl y series and kept in monthly bundles in order of date . The monthl y serial number shall be entered against each payment in the cash account under the date, thus 4 t h /No . 10 . The bundle shall be in due course destroyed in accordance with i nstructions in Appendix X III (8 -Police -station) .

All cheques shall be signed and the ent ries in the cash account shall be made by the officer in per manent charge of the station in his own handwriting or when he is absent on duty by the officer tempora ril y in charge not below the rank of Assistant Sub -Inspect or. The Sub -Inspector in per manent charge shall on return to the station initial the entries concerned and countersi gn the cheques and satisf y hi mself as to the correctness of the accounts .

The officer in per manent charge of the station may, when necessary, for the sake of convenience delegate by an order in writing in the general diar y the wor k of keeping the cash account, disbursing money or si gning cheques to a j unior Sub – Inspector or to an Assi stant Sub -Inspector by name but in that case the responsibility f or the actual cash and for initialling the entries in the cash account shall rest with the officer in charge .

At the close of each month the original for m in use throughout the month sha l l be forwarded by the offi cer in charge to the Supeiintendent ‘s office through the Court offi cer, the duplicate copy bei ng retained at the stati on .

. Cash shall not be kept in hand unnecessarily. If any sum of money has remained in hand for more than two months . the officer in charge shall . when submitting his monthl y account, explain fully the reason for the delay.

Procedure for the disposal of money realized by the police under orders of Magistrates .

410 . All miscellaneous magisterial receipts ot her than fine remitted to the Magist rate’s office, such as chauki dari money, sale -proceeds of impornded cattle, and any other money realized under orders of the Magistrate unconnected with the police, shall be paid direct into the treasur”y or sub -tr easury, as the case may be, and shall not be sent to the Superintendent or to the Court office . The amounts thus rcmitted shall be accompanied by chalans in triplicate, in printed for m, which shall be presented at sadar to the Magistrate’s accountant and at subdi visions to the nazir, or in case the nazir is treasurer or treasury accountant , to the clerk in charge of t he fine register ,or some other cler k from whom securit y has been taken and who does not perfor m the duties of the treasurer or treasury accountant . The Magistrate’s accountant or subdi visional clerk,as aforesaid, shall examine the chalans and if they are in order and correct, shall initial them and return them to the police officer to present with the cash at the treqsury. At t he treasury the chalams shall be taken to the accountant and treasur er, and after being receipted, two copies shall be returned to the police officer, who shall take one back to the Magi strate’s accountant or subdivisional cler k, as the case may be, leaving it with hi m f or the pur pose of writing up his books, and shall retai n the other as his acquittance . Police Regulations Bengal 1943

All other/ money, such as cash stolen and recovered . cash found on under -trial prisoners, sale -proceeds of unclaimed . attached or suspicious property, shall be forwarded to the Court officer. Intestate money shall be sent to the District Judge direct . .

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Sarvarthapedia

Officer-in charge of a police-station. .

Transfer of charge of police-station or outpost. .

Station house to be kept neat and clean. .

Occupation of inspection rooms and bungalows attached to police stations by gazetted touring officers of other departments. .

The station officer. .

Second and third officers. .

Duties of Assistant Sub-Inspectors. .

Duties of constables. .

Mufassil diary. .

Keeping of pony or bicycle. .

Verification rolls. .

Responsibility of the station officer for instructing subordinates and rural police. .

Institution of cases. .

Attendance at large hats and melas. .

214A. Pocket Books.

Deputation of constables to adjoining districts to learn bad characters. .

Deputation of Assistant Sub-Inspectors or constables to important railway or steamer stations.

Persons to be specially watched. .

Co-operation with Railway Police. .

Officers-in-charge of district police-station to be acquainted with certain regulations concerning Railway Police. § 12, Act V,. 1861.

Police officers in plain clothes to carry credentials. .

Station masters to receive messages to be telegraphed and to issue tickets for train journeys without prepayment of fare.

Overloading of ferryboats. .

Registration at presses.

Duties of police in respect of wandering or dangerous lunatics. .

Inspection of arms and ammunition shops by Sub-Inspector. .

Inspection, search for and seizure of stores for explosives. .

Wrecks. .

Treasure trove.

Archaeology.

Pillars of the Great Trigonometrical Survey.

Duties under the Cattle Trespass Act.

Registration of sales of cattle.

Reports of epidemic diseases.

Registration of births and deaths.

Police to assist touring officers.

Station boats. .

Instructions about arms and ammunition issued to police-station. .

Revolvers issued to police-station. .

Keys of the malkhana and lock-up. .

Custody of weapons deposited in the malkhana. .

Cash chests of the postal and other departments kept under the charge of station-house sentry.

Instructions for the issue of telegrams by station officers. .

Recording of information under section 154, Criminal Procedure Code. .

First information to be recorded in all but certain cases. .

Cognizable offence referred by Magistrate.

Despatch of First Information Report. .

List of stolen property to be obtained from the complainant. .

Heinous cases occurring outside jurisdiction. .

Information of an offence committed within and outside railway limits. .

Issue of hue-and-cry notices. .

Action to be taken on receipt of information regarding intestate property. .

Warning to owners and occupiers of land when a breach of the peace is apprehended. .

Forgery of currency notes. .

Cases in which first information not submitted. .

Responsibility of station officer. .

Investigating officer to consult connected registers before proceeding to investigate. .

Abstention from investigation. .

Investigation on the spot. .

Investigation outside jurisdiction. .

Harassment of the public to be avoided. .

Duration of investigation. ).

Complaints of ill-treatment against the police by arrested persons. .

Case diary. .

Instructions for writing case diary. .

Recording of statements under section 161, Criminal Procedure Code.

Dying declaration. .

Police may not decide question of lunacy. .

Investigation of non-cognizable cases. .

Binding down of witnesses. .

Number of witnesses to be sent up. .

Information from post or telegraph office records.

Chargesheets. .

Map or plan to accompany chargesheet in certain cases. .

Memo of evidence. §12, Act V of 1861.

Final report forms. .

Magisterial orders on final reports.

276A. Discharge report.

Revival of investigation. .

Communication of action taken to informant on completion of investigation.