NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh High Court bench in Indore has expressed concern over the poor state of ‘malkhanas‘, the storerooms that police use to store prosecution evidence, and directed authorities to ensure their proper upkeep.
This order came following the Vijay Nagar police’s statement that the plastic cans used to contain the viscera in connection with a case were damaged by rats amid rains, because of which, police could not obtain a histopathological report.
The police also submitted that 28 other samples too were destroyed by rats.
A single bench of Indore HC comprising Justice Subodh Abhyankar said, “This court is of the considered opinion that the police officers concerned should have taken into account all the relevant factors to protect and safeguard the material seized during investigation.”
He added that even though nothing can be done about the “spoiled milk”, at least this incident highlighted the pathetic condition in which the articles, material collected during investigation is kept in the police stations of the state.
He was also worried about the conditions at police stations in smaller places, when one of Indore’s busiest police stations, in the current case, faced such an incident.
On October 4, Justice Abhyankar dismissed the bail plea of an individual accused of culpable homicide and instructed the director general of police to check all malkhanas in the state to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“For this purpose, a web link can be provided to all the police stations for updating the latest inventory and the status of the malkhana every month,” the judge said, adding such a move will keep police on guard about their upkeep.
The police informed the court that a departmental investigation has been initiated against the former officer in charge of the Vijay Nagar police station and the malkhana in charge. They also stated that additional precautions are being implemented when transferring items from malkhanas to other locations.