Telangana police rank last in training on new criminal laws

Telangana police have ranked last among States in training officers on the new criminal laws, with 47.76 percent yet to undergo training. Ministry of Home Affairs data showed only 52.23 percent of the State’s 53,115 police officers were trained.

Hyderabad: Telangana police may have recently topped the country in tackling cybercrime, but it has also achieved a ‘rare distinction’ in training its officers on the new criminal laws.

More than two years have passed since the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) came into force throughout the country, yet 47.76 percent of Telangana police officers are yet to be trained in the provisions of these new laws.

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As per the information released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, only 27,747 (52.23 percent) out of 53,115 Telangana police officers have been trained in the new laws, leaving the State last in the country.

The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh State police conducted capacity-building programmes for 96.46 percent of its 54,764 officers. Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of police officers, 2,33,969, in the country, has imparted knowledge about these new laws to 94 percent of its personnel.

A total of 16 States, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Assam, Haryana and Maharashtra, conducted capacity-building programmes on the new laws for all their police personnel. Five States achieved more than 90 percent police personnel training.

The training among Telangana prison officers is no better, as 38 percent of the 1,110 personnel remained untrained. However, all prosecutors, judicial officers and forensic experts in the State received training.

Overall, 15,72,863 police officers, 50,588 prison staff, 13,446 prosecutors, 20,825 judicial officers and 3,406 forensic experts across the country were trained in the provisions of the new laws.

The Ministry recently released this data in response to a query raised by Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjuna Kharge. He sought to know the implementation status of the BNS, BNSS and BSA in the country, besides training sessions, workshops or capacity-building programmes conducted for police, judicial officers and other enforcement personnel.

The Ministry said the Bureau of Police Research and Development trained 83,740 officers, including 5,290 police officers from Hyderabad, and stakeholders from the five pillars of the criminal justice system, including master trainers.

The master trainers have also been utilised by State training institutions to conduct further training programmes within the respective States. Further, 110 e-learning courses have been hosted on the iGOT Karmayogi platform, of which 76 courses relate to the new criminal laws, it added.