Because a witness resiles from an earlier statement, police said the system allowed investigators to preserve digital evidence through a documented process, reducing the risk of a case being weakened solely.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Latur district police have secured the top rank in the country for generating and linking e-Sakshya IDs to criminal cases, achieving a near-perfect 99.98% compliance rate, according to data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). “The 99.98% score places Latur at the forefront of digital policing in the country. Because a witness resiles from an earlier statement, police officers said the system allowed investigators to preserve digital evidence through a documented process, reducing the risk of a case being weakened solely.
Introduced with the implementation of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the e-Sakshya system enables investigating officers to digitally record evidence collected during probes, including photographs, videos and other electronic material.
The achievement is significant as systematic preservation of digital evidence can strengthen prosecution cases, particularly when witnesses later retract statements or turn hostile, subject to the evidence being legally admissible and duly proved in court, according to police. This becomes particularly important when witnesses change their statements or turn hostile, as the prosecution can rely on other legally admissible evidence on record,” Latur superintendent of police Amol Tambe said. Additional SP Mangesh Chavan, who oversees the initiative in Latur, said the district’s performance reflected sustained monitoring and coordinated efforts across the police force. This achievement is the result of collective efforts by the entire district police team,” he said.
Each item is assigned a unique e-Sakshya ID, which is linked to the relevant FIR or crime, creating a traceable digital evidence trail that can also be shared with courts. “Effective use of e-Sakshya strengthens investigations by ensuring digital evidence is properly recorded, preserved and linked to the concerned case.
They, however, clarified that the evidentiary value of such material ultimately depended on its authenticity, admissibility and proof before the court.
Police said proper recording and linking of digital evidence was critical to maintaining an unbroken chain from collection during investigation to production before the court. The system helped establish when, where and in connection with which case a piece of evidence was collected, they said.