HOW NCB DOES EXAMINATION OF PERSONS AND RECORDING OF STATEMENTS?

Due to Sushant Singh Rajputs Death mystery, Narcotics Control Bureau is on the concentration of the media and the common person, in this informative article you can read, How Narcotics Control Bureau examines the persons and record his/her statements?

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Once the search proceedings are complete and offending goods i.e. ND (Narcotic Drugs), PS (Psychotropic Substances) or CS (Controlled Substances), sale proceeds, IAP (Illegally Acquired Property) or evidence relating to these are recovered and seized during the search of premises or any person, the Drug Law Enforcement Officer (DLEO) should immediately start enquiries and examine the person(s) who are concerned/ associated with the possession and/or recovery of the above said items.

The owner/occupant of the premises, the person who is held out to be owner of the incriminating items and any other person who is connected therewith and the witnesses to the recovery and seizure should be examined and their statements recorded immediately after seizure.

Power:

The DLEO is authorized under Section 67 of the NDPS Act to call for information from any person for the purpose of satisfying himself that there has been contravention of the provisions of the Act, the NDPS Rules and the NDPS (RCS) Order and to require any person to produce or deliver any documents or things useful for or relevant to the enquiry. Under the authority of Section 67 of the Act, any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case may be examined.

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Recording Statement:

All persons examined should write their statements in their own handwriting in a language known to them. If they know English or Hindi, it is better because most people know it and most courts conduct their business in either English or Hindi. However, if a person wants to write in any other language, a translator or a colleague who is conversant with the language, both spoken and written, should be asked to help. This will ensure that the person is actually writing what he is stating before the DLEO.

The statement, as far as possible, should be in a question-answer format but it can also take the form of a continuous narration in response to questions by the DLEO. The person giving the statement should sign on each page of the statement and the DLEO should endorse his initials on each page except the last page where he should endorse ‘Recorded by me’ or ‘Before me’ and sign his full dated signature below and write his full name and designation.

It is alright if the statement is typed but since the initial statement is usually taken on the spot of recovery, this may not be possible. Further, later many people may claim that they don’t know the language and only signed on the dotted lines at the behest of the DLEO.

One-to-one:

The recording of statement should be on one-to-one basis, between the DLEO and the person being examined. Usually many officers come in between, ask different questions, behave differently and go away. This distracts both the DLEO and the person examined, puts pressure on the person being examined and later during court trial when it is proved that many people were interrogating the person at the time of recording statement, the statement loses its voluntary character.

Key Persons First, Others Later:

The DLEO must start with the persons from whom the incriminating goods/ evidence has been recovered and record their statements, if feasible on the spot even though it may be a short one. It may touch upon the facts and circumstances of search, recovery and seizure, the source and destination of the drugs, storage place of further quantities of drugs or IAP, and other key accomplices.

This will form the basis of immediate follow-up action. Subsequent statement of the person can be taken after giving him some rest and in the office of the DLEO on the basis of full facts, records, and results of simultaneous follow-up investigations conducted by the DLEO.

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Examine Witnesses Also:

The next set of persons to be examined are search witnesses who will corroborate their participation in witnessing the entire search proceedings, recovery and seizure, perhaps even the admission by the owner/possessor that the substance recovered is ND, PS or CS.

This is important because in the absence of witnesses during court trial for any reason, despite the best effort of DLEO to produce them to prove their statements, their written statements can be claimed by the prosecution for use as evidence.

Police and Section 67:

The DLEO, if from Police, should also record statements under Section 67 of the NDPS Act while investigating drug offences and mention clearly that the statement is being recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. read with Section 67 of the NDPS Act. He should then get the person to write in his own handwriting and ask him to sign his statement. By doing this, the benefits of constructive presumptions provided under Sections 53-A and 66 of the NDPS Act can be availed by the prosecution.

Examining Illiterate Persons:

If the person examined is a person who does not know how to write but speaks a language, the DLEO should seek the help of an independent person who knows the language and may request him to write the statement on behalf of the person being examined. That the statement is being written by another person in the said circumstances should be clearly indicated in the beginning of the statement and at the end of the statement.

The person writing the statement should read it over to the person being examined, get his approval and satisfaction that the statement has been recorded correctly and this fact should be clearly endorsed in the statement. It should then be signed by the person who gave the statement and the one who wrote the statement.

In-depth Questioning:

While recording a statement, the DLEO should design the questions in such a way that he is able to elicit maximum disclosure from the person being examined. The statement should establish the person’s complete personal, professional/occupational and financial information including assets and liabilities, relatives and business associates, exact role in relation to drugs/ evidence recovered source/destination of drugs, sale/ purchase consideration, money trail, accomplices, past involvement, etc. The disclosures should be precise and verifiable.

Safety Measures:

The DLEO should always ensure his own safety and security as well as that of the person being examined by him. Such examination of persons is a fact finding exercise which is useful to both the DLEO and the person being examined. While the DLEO tries to get further clues and evidence of the commission of an offence, the person being examined and accused of having committed an offence gets first hand opportunity to explain his innocence if at all or the true extent of his role and involvement in the said offence.

During such period of pre-arrest investigation, the person being examined cannot be said to be in the DLEO’s custody, yet any unfortunate and desperate act like inflicting self-injury, committing suicide, etc., must be prevented by taking suitable precautions and keeping a watch.

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