steps involved in conducting preliminary Investigation

10. What are the steps involved in conducting preliminary Investigation? Following steps may be helpful for conduct of preliminary investigation: (a) Study and analyse the complaint. (b) List the facts that need to be verified and the evidence in support thereof. (c) Check whether any site inspection is necessary. [e.g. If the allegation relates to some construction] (d) Identify if any evidence relating to the complaint is perishable or likely to undergo change in due course of time [If the crop standing on the land is to be verified, it must be done before harvesting; in certain cases, evidence may be lost during monsoon. etc.] (e) List the documents and persons who can provide information on the matters raised in the complaint. (f) Where a surprise check is involved, carry out the same without any delay. Conduct of surprise inspection, where necessary, should be the first visible action of the preliminary investigation. Otherwise, site inspection may be taken up after taking over of documents, as explained in the next sub-para. (g) In a single swift move, collect all the relevant documents. This is all the more necessary because, once the interested parties come to know that a preliminary investigation is going on, efforts will be made to tamper with the documents. In case any of the documents are required for further action by the authorities concerned, authenticated copies may be made available to the authorities concerned. If the above course of action is not possible for any reason, the documents must be left to the custody of an officer in the relevant branch of the organization making him/her responsible for the safety of the documents. (h) Where relevant, write to the complainant, if not already done by the administrative authorities. Ask if he/she can provide any additional information or evidence. In case the complaint has been triggered by an aggrieved individual, (say an unsuccessful bidder, unsuccessful candidate for recruitment) the complainant may provide necessary documents with a sense of vengeance! (i) Talk to the persons who are likely to have information about the issue. Record the proceedings and get it signed by the deposer. This phase of the preliminary investigation is perhaps most challenging because one may come across several reluctant and unwilling persons. The preliminary investigation officer should use all his tact and persuasive skills for eliciting information even from the unwilling witnesses. 38 (j) While it is not mandatory to talk to the suspected public servant at the stage of preliminary investigation, it may be a desirable course of action in most of the cases. (k) Study the information collected so as to formulate views as to whether a conclusion could be drawn about the veracity of the allegations. (l) If no conclusion could be arrived at, repeat the steps mentioned above (m) Prepare investigation report and submit with the original documents collected or created during the investigation.