Hyderabad Police launch dedicated probe wing in Golconda Zone to speed up serious crime cases

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad City Police on Tuesday launched a Zonal Investigation Branch in the Golconda Zone as a pilot project, creating a dedicated team to investigate serious and complex criminal cases registered at police stations across the zone.

Commissioner of Police V.C. Sajjanar inaugurated the branch at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Golconda Zone, in Mehdipatnam.

Under the arrangement, the new wing will take up serious and complex cases, while station-level personnel concentrate on maintaining law and order and preventing crime. According to the police, investigations are often affected because station staff have to handle criminal cases alongside routine duties, including bandobust (security) arrangements. The dedicated branch is expected to reduce that workload and improve the quality of investigations.

The team will comprise two detective inspectors, one sub-inspector, one head constable and 10 constables. It will coordinate with the Health Department, the Forensic Science Laboratory and prosecution officials to collect scientific evidence and file charge sheets within the prescribed timelines.

Because the branch is designed to handle cases registered at police stations across the zone, investigation may in some cases be carried out by the zonal team rather than by station staff who also manage other duties.

Speaking at the inauguration, Mr. Sajjanar said the branch was set up to ensure that routine policing duties did not delay investigations, and that victims received timely justice.

The wing will work with the Investigation Monitoring Cell already functioning at the Commissionerate, which monitors the progress of investigations into serious crimes.

Emphasising the importance of scientific evidence in securing convictions, the Commissioner said investigators should not rely solely on traditional methods.

He said similar branches would be established in other zones of the Commissionerate based on the outcome of the pilot project in the Golconda Zone.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Tafseer Iqubal, Golconda Zone DCP J. Raghavendar Reddy and other senior officers attended the programme.

The move relates to a long-standing recommendation in Indian police reform: that investigation be separated from law and order duties. In its 2006 judgment in Prakash Singh v. Union of India, the Supreme Court directed States and Union Territories to separate investigation from law and order functions. The Malimath Committee on criminal justice reforms had made a similar recommendation in 2003. Several States have since set up dedicated investigation units, though the extent of implementation has varied.

For now, the Golconda Zone will serve as the testing ground for the model in Hyderabad, with the department's decision on extending it to other zones expected to depend on how the pilot performs.