HYDERABAD: Police officials across the state are revising the family trees of criminals, especially those known to be involved in grave offences and organised criminal gangs.
According to the police, a family tree is all the information that is known about a criminal. “It includes the names and details of his family members, close relatives, and friends; any health troubles or ailments that he or his family members may be suffering from, and the doctors being consulted. It also includes details regarding the criminal’s habits, such as his preferred brand of cigarettes and liquor, places that he regularly visits, including hotels, bars, pan shops, hair salons, and his preferred mode of transport,” says a police official.
Such records are maintained for persons associated with, or suspected to be associated with, terror groups, the Maoist movement, extremist groups and criminal gangs. “It is a technique that has proven to be helpful. An official, after going through the family tree, can successfully nab a suspect if he goes absconding. When officials do not have information abo-ut a suspect who is absconding, they start filling up the family tree in order to track him down,” says ano-ther senior official.
Family trees were previously maintained by national-level investigative agencies, especially those dealing with extremism and terrorism. “Realising its effectiveness, the police across the state are also using this technique now.
Earlier, only an interrogation report containing the basic details of a criminal used to be prepared. Now the police are gradually adding more details to those reports,” says a senior police official.
