2 bikers booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Telangana

Advocates protest against the implementation of new criminal laws in Hyderabad on Monday

HYDERABAD: Director General of Police (DGP) Ravi Gupta announced that the Telangana police have registered the inaugural First Information Report (FIR), under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), bearing a digital signature.

The first FIR registered in Telangana was against two bikers who were driving without number plates in Charminar police station limits. The police caught them during vehicle checks at Gulzar House X Road late on Sunday night. When the cops questioned them, they gave evasive answers and tried to avoid the inquiry.

Following this, the sub-inspector on duty filed a suo-moto case at 1 am on Monday under Section 281 of the BNS and Sections 80(a) and 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Section 281 of the BNS deals with rash driving. Earlier, the police would have filed a case under Section 279 of the IPC for the same charge.

“For the past month or so, a team from the CCTNS and other officers, including the DCP and Additional DCP, would conduct regular classes to train the cops on how to register FIRs under the new criminal laws,” shared Station House Officer of Charminar police station K Chandrashekar. “There were practical sessions too during the training,” he added.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which came into effect on July 1, replaced the IPC. The other new laws, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSS), replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

The DGP released awareness posters on the new criminal laws in both Telugu and English. “These posters will be displayed at all police stations across the state to guide the citizens regarding the new legislation,” he added.

The top cop also released a comprehensive booklet on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for police officers under the new criminal laws. The manual includes 43 SOPs and 31 proformas covering most of the important subjects in the BNSS. Further, the DGP also said that an investigation support centre at the CID was upgraded with additional resources like “experts and new technology to guide the investigating officers during this transition phase into the new criminal law regime”. This centre shall function 24x7, the police said.