Legal advisers to help police frame charges

By Shariff Ameeruddin Ishaqui

Hyderabad, Feb. 12: The State government has decided to appoint legal advisers in the police department to assist officers from the rank of superintendent of police to the director-general of police on various issues. Sources said that a legal advisor would be appointed in each district police office and one or more advisors would be appointed in the various police commissionerates. Apart from this, a finance adviser will also be appointed to assist the DGP. At present, police officers are mainly depending on prosecutors to file their chargesheets in court. As per law, chargesheets have to be sanctioned by an SP at the district level and commissioners at city level before they are filed in courts. "But the fact remains that many cases had been acquitted because of the lack of proper legal scrutiny before filing the chargesheets," said a senior police official. Legal advisors are meant to solve this problem. "Police officers can get tips from them before submitting the chargesheets in various cases," he said. According to sources, the home department is working out the modalities for the appointments.