How to video-record crime scene, evidence: Queries keep BNS help desks busy in Delhi

Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora had asked DCPs in all seven Delhi districts to set up the help desks to assist and respond to queries by personnel on the field.

According to sources, more than 50 calls have been made so far to the help desks. Elaborating on queries raised by the Investigating Officers (IOs), a senior officer said, “There are glitches in the application at times as it has recently been launched. So, that is a query which is resolved immediately from the back-end. While recording videos, the internet connection is often weak at the said spot. Officers often call the help desks regarding this.”

The officer further explained, “There is a provision that allows uploading the video and presenting it within 48 hours to a Magistrate. So, whenever an internet connection is found, the said video pertaining to a search and seizure, or simply a video of the incident, gets uploaded on the E-Pramaan application for the Magistrate to see.”

Another officer said that in times of contingencies, when the smart phones of police personnel stop working due to technical issues, they are allowed to shoot videos from any other phone of any other person as per the legal mandate. “The data needs to be stored in a pen drive and submitted to the magistrate under Section 63 of BSA which pertains to bringing electronic evidence as admissible evidence, which takes up more time,” the officer added.

Said another senior police officer, “Officers are also not thorough with narrating the circumstances of an incident while shooting a video. So, we have received queries on how to describe an incident…”

Said an officer of the North district, “The application has largely been running smoothly…since it (the application) got a new interface after recently being updated, officers are getting a hang of it and are being trained regularly as not all of them are technologically proficient in registering on the application and uploading videos.”