New law awaits govt nod to protect evidences
Friday, 13 January 2012
Law Ministry is scrutinising the draft of a proposed law titled 'Identification of the Convicted, Arrested, Suspected and Crime Scene Related Persons Act' replacing Prisoners' Identification Act-1920 to protect evidences of serious crimes, reports BSS.
Bangladesh Police has prepared the draft of the new law under Police Reform Programme (PRP) to protect evidences of serious criminal offences like the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the Awami League (AL) rally.
With passage of the proposed act, not only prisoners but also every person related to crime scene, including law enforcers as well as any VIP (Very Important Person), whoever he or she may be, will have to allow police to take their fingerprints, biometric photographs and other necessary examination to protect evidence of serious criminal offences.
If any crime scene related person denies going through the process, he or she will be punished as per the proposed law and it will be mentioned in details in sections 4 and 8 of the proposed act. The draft of the proposed new law was prepared with nine sections and some sub sections.
As per the proposed law, none except the crime scene investigators will be allowed to visit the crime scene aiming to protect the evidence.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Saiful Alam of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told this correspondent at his Malibagh office that the Law Ministry is now scrutinising the draft of the proposed law.
In accordance with the existing Prisoners' Identification Act, 1920, the law enforcers can only collect fingerprints of the prisoners, but they cannot take fingerprints, biometric photographs and conduct other necessary examinations of the people who visit the crime scene, which is necessary to identify the real criminals involved in the offence, he said.
Evidence of many serious criminal offences like the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the Awami League rally in which 24 people, including Ivy Rahman, the then Mahila Awami League president and wife of President M Zillur Rahman were killed and 500 others were injured, were destroyed, some CID officials said.
Bangladesh Police has prepared the draft of the new law under Police Reform Programme (PRP) to protect evidences of serious criminal offences like the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the Awami League (AL) rally.
With passage of the proposed act, not only prisoners but also every person related to crime scene, including law enforcers as well as any VIP (Very Important Person), whoever he or she may be, will have to allow police to take their fingerprints, biometric photographs and other necessary examination to protect evidence of serious criminal offences.
If any crime scene related person denies going through the process, he or she will be punished as per the proposed law and it will be mentioned in details in sections 4 and 8 of the proposed act. The draft of the proposed new law was prepared with nine sections and some sub sections.
As per the proposed law, none except the crime scene investigators will be allowed to visit the crime scene aiming to protect the evidence.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Saiful Alam of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) told this correspondent at his Malibagh office that the Law Ministry is now scrutinising the draft of the proposed law.
In accordance with the existing Prisoners' Identification Act, 1920, the law enforcers can only collect fingerprints of the prisoners, but they cannot take fingerprints, biometric photographs and conduct other necessary examinations of the people who visit the crime scene, which is necessary to identify the real criminals involved in the offence, he said.
Evidence of many serious criminal offences like the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on the Awami League rally in which 24 people, including Ivy Rahman, the then Mahila Awami League president and wife of President M Zillur Rahman were killed and 500 others were injured, were destroyed, some CID officials said.