IPC to BNS: Cops all nerves in Karnataka as new laws kick in

BENGALURU: 8am, Monday. Control rooms of city police were repeatedly flashing a message on their wireless network: "We bring to your notice the cases (FIRs and NCRs) registered in your respective jurisdictions today should be done under BNS. Pls note, today is the day BNS replaces IPC (sic)".
The tone of urgency was palpable in the messages; as was the anxiety on the faces of personnel at the 111 law-and-order and 50 traffic stations across the city.After all, BNS, aka Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, was replacing the Indian Penal Code, which had been the backbone of the policing system in the country since 1860. Besides BNS, Bharatiya Nyaya Surakasha Sanhita (BNSS) was also kicking in, replacing the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that has prescribed how criminal law must be administered since 1973.
The tables of the enquiry desks at police stations, which would usually be chock-a-block with dairies, walkie-talkies, lathis, paper bundles and court copies, had new entrants: Ready reckoner copies of BNS and BNSS. At most stations, police personnel now and again cross-checked complaints and contemplated what sections of BNS and BNSS should be invoked. Almost everyone in the stations was seen moving around with copies of BNS and BNSS, many animatedly discussing which sections of BNS had replaced which of IPC.
However, personnel at HSR Layout station in southeast Bengaluru were a wee bit relaxed through the day. After all, they had had their tryst with one of the two new laws just past midnight, when they registered an unnatural death report (UDR) under Section 194 of BNSS. Earlier, unnatural and suspicious deaths would be registered under Section 174 of CrPC.
A 30-year-old-woman had collapsed in her HSR Layout I Sector house. The deceased, R Suguna, was a mother of two minor children, including a two-year-old girl, and was shifted to a nearby private hospital, where she was declared brought dead. The UDR was registered around 1.30am Monday. Police sources said doctors' first impression was it was a case of heart attack and the matter would be closed after the post-mortem report confirmed this.
"Around 1am, staffers from HSR Layout station called me, saying a case of unnatural death had come and it was time to register it under BNSS. After a detailed examination of the case, instructions were given to the officer concerned on the section to be invoked under BNSS," DCP (southeast) CK Baba said.
Others seek advice
HSR Layout cops were flooded with questions about their experience from their colleagues in other stations. Many sought advice and guidance from them on registering new cases. "We have to wait and see for some days on the issues arising out of BNS implementation. Gradually, we'll get adjusted to it. But we need some time," a senior woman police officer said.
At Nandini Layout police station, a simple formula had been arrived at over the past few days to ease the tension. "We had taken a list of criminal cases registered in the last one year. We found most of them were cases of domestic violence, dowry harassment, missing persons, robbery, chain-snatching, theft, motor vehicle theft, house-break theft and so on. We noted down the relevant IPC sections of these cases in one column and the BNS ones in another column. The list is ready now and we can match the relevant BNS sections with old IPC cases, " a cop said.
DCP (north) Saidulu Adavat said incidents reported after Sunday midnight would be registered under BNS, while those that occurred on Sunday fell under IPC.