Kochi: The state excise department is waiting for 117 additional posts, as proposed to the government, for the formation of a crime branch announced by the minister in the assembly on Thursday.
“The crime branch will function as a special unit to handle special cases assigned to them, thereby reducing the huge workload of officers in the district. Though we have requested 117 additional posts for the wing headed by one joint excise commissioner, a basic structure is expected soon,” S. Aananthakrishnan, exci-se commissioner, told DC.
According to official sources, the proposed posts include three deputy excise commissioners (DC), 14 assistant excise commissioners (AEC) one each in the districts, 43 circle inspectors (CI), three inspectors (in DC office), 48 preventive officers, four drivers and 1 confidential assistant.
Sources said that the state excise department is running with a tiny number of staffs and with a large number of cases in hand.
“The Ernakulam district has one assistant commissioner, seven circle inspectors, 21 excise inspectors, 65 preventive officers, and 290 civil excise officers. Of these, around 90 personnel will be on office and court duties, and their immediate service cannot be obtained. In total, sometimes, the number of officers we could gather for an operation can be reduced to three or four,” a source from the excise said.
As per the Supreme Court order in August 2018, the officer who registers the FIR cannot investigate the case further as it has to be done by a senior officer.
“This creates a huge delay in conducting the investigation. The formation of the crime branch with another AEC in the district might resolve it,” an officer said.
On the other hand, the department still lacks modern technical tools to trace and identify the new-generation drug deals that usually planned through online.
“We have to depend on police even for tracking tower location or collecting call details. It delays the investigation as police is already busy with plenty of cases of their own,” a source with the excise said.
