Teething troubles lead to low registration of FIRs, arrests under new criminal laws in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: With three new criminal laws coming into effect on Monday, the number of cases registered in police stations and arrests under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in Odisha witnessed a significant drop, compared to the daily registration of cases under the previous IPC sections till Sunday.
The first case under BNS provisions was registered in Laxmisagar police station in Bhubaneswar on Monday.A youth alleged his father Gaurang Charan Das was attacked by miscreants near Chintamaniswar temple on June 29. The case (370/24) was registered under several BNS sections, including 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 109 (attempt to murder), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapon) and 3(5) (criminal act committed by several persons with common intention).
“In Laxmisagar attempt to murder case, though the incident occurred on June 29, the complainant alleged he was threatened by the accused on Monday as well. Hence, the case was registered under BNS,” DCP Prateek Singh said.
Till 10 pm, only about 55 FIRs under the new criminal laws were registered at different police stations in the state. Odisha has a total of 676 police stations. At least 520 cases used to be registered on a normal day under earlier IPC sections.
The state’s lone arrest was made by Nayapalli police station at Bhubaneswar under BNS law till 10 pm. The accused, who was identified as Kuna Sethy (27), was arrested for rash driving and causing an accident in the Nayapalli area on Monday afternoon. No e-FIR nor zero FIR was registered in the state on Monday.
Police attributed the low registration of cases to various teething issues encountered by the investigating officers. “We found out that migration to the new system posed some hurdles, including the technical adaptability of investigating officers. At some places, cops encountered software glitches. In some districts, there was a confusion whether crimes that occurred before July 1 would attract IPC or BNS sections when complainants reached police stations on Monday,” a senior police officer said.
DGP Arun Sarangi said many cases, including theft, were registered under the old IPC sections in the state on Monday as the crimes occurred on Sunday.