DARK SECRETS OF SCOTLAND YARD

By Revati Tandon

• PROVENANCE OF SCOTLAND YARD

Scotland yard which is officially termed as the new Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters building of the metropolitan police, the territorial police force responsible for policing 32 boroughs (a part of a large city which has its government) of London. The New Scotland Yard is now located at Victoria, the city of Westminster on the embankment of river Thames. The London police were originally positioned at Whitehall facing great Scotland yard. Throughout the 1800s, the metropolitan police force expanded in the area of Whitehall at Westminster. From 1829 till 1890. Scotland Yard is in charge of maintaining the link between the British police force and Interpol.

• DUTIES OF METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE

The police force patrols the area of Greater London, not the city of London as it has its police force. The rudimentary role of the metropolitan police force is detection and prevention of crime rates, safeguarding public orders, supervising the public domain. The formal designation of the London police force is MET. The administrative head of the Scotland Yard is the commissioner, who is generally appointed by the crown on the recommendation of the home secretary. Beneath the post of commissioner, there is another assistant commissioner who generally handles the commissions such as training, police recruitment, traffic, administration, etc., Scotland Yard provides a special branch of police for statesmen, royalty, and other big dignitaries.

• A BRIEF HISTORY OF SCOTLAND YARD

The London police force was created in 1829 for the first time by an introduction of an act in the parliament. The police force eventually supersede the old system of watchmen and Thames police and patrols in the late 18th century. Scotland yard first stationed its plainclothes police agents in the year 1842. The name of the Yard was inspired by its location, a gothic palace that housed Scottish royalty on their visits to London. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was born in the 1880s with a respected unit of detectives recruited in the department. Since 1833 the Yard had published THE POLICE GAZETTE.

• MOST FAMOUS MURDER CASES OF SCOTLAND YARD

1. MURDER OF HANNAH DETERVILLE

The murder shocked the city of London and strained relations between police and the British African community. In 1998, a 15-year-old catholic school girl Hannah Centerville was found dead in the woodland area of west London. she has been stabbed 20 times in the face and neck. Hannah had been missing for 2 weeks she told her mom that she was going to see her friend and will come late but her family didn’t get the last chance to see her. Despite several arrests have been made by Scotland police at that time, but the killer was not discovered.

2. CASE OF LONE GUNMAN

JILL DANDO, the BBC host of the popular programs Holiday and Crimewatch, suddenly died in the year 1999. Dando was discovered outside her front door with a bullet wound on her head and keys of her BMW clutched tightly in her hand. This incident happened in daylight still there is no witness to prove what exactly happened and even all the signs pointed towards the murder being a professional hit.

3. RING OF BELLS MURDER

In the year 1945, the body of 68-year-old landlord AMY DAVIS was discovered by a family in Ring Bells, a pub situated in Hills field. The victim has been appeared to be beaten to death and strangled, the body left in the bathtub of the pub, where the head was covered in blood. Hundreds of people were interviewed by the Scotland yard police, new witnesses arrived at the station to give the information, letters were mailed to police officers but still, the case remains unsolved.

 4.GAME RESERVE MURDER

In 1988, JULIE WARD traveled to a game reserve in Kenya for photography of animals, where she was murdered. Six days after she disappeared burned remains of her leg and some part of her jaws were found in the bushes of the reserve. At first, it was seen as a case of suicide or an animal attack but afterward in 2011 when the case was later investigated by the Scotland police branch, they found several times that were to be linked by murder, and still today the investigation is going on.

• MURDER AND ITS PUNISHMENT IN THE INDIAN PENAL CODE

Murder is defined under Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code. According to this Act, culpable homicide is considered as murder if:

· The act is committed with an intention to cause death.

· The act is done to cause such bodily injury which the offender knows that would result in death

· The act must be done with the knowledge that the act is likely to cause the death of another.

There is a slight difference between murder and culpable homicide.

Culpable homicide is covered under Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code.

Culpable homicide means the act done by a person which causes the death of another intending to cause death or cause such bodily injury that is likely to cause death, or he has knowledge that the act committed by him is likely to cause death, is said to commit the offense of Culpable homicide.

• PUNISHMENT OF MURDER UNDER INDIAN PENAL CODE

Section 301of the Indian penal code states that culpable homicide amounts to murder if the person who was not intended to die, dies due to the act committed by the delinquent, even though he he had planned to murder someone else.

Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code provides the punishment for murder. According to this Section whoever commits murder is punished with:

· Death;

· Life imprisonment;

· The convict shall also be liable to a fine.

Section 304A of the Indian penal code signifies the death caused by negligence which means if someone causes the death of another due to negligence shall be published with imprisonment extended upto 2 years or with fine or both.

Section 304B of Indian penal code states that if within the 7 years of marriage a woman dies by a bodily injury or burns or before marriage the woman was the victim of cruelty or harrasment by her husband or any other relative of her husband , due to the demand of dowry then the death of the woman shall be considered as dowry death.

      The punishment for Dowry death is imprisonment for minimum 7 years or maximum imprisonment for life.

Section 307 of the Indian penal code deals with an attempt bro murder .Who so ever commits an act with an intention to cause the death of the person would be held guilty of murder and shall be punished with imprisonment which can be extended upto 10 years and shall be liable to pay the fine or both.

• SCOTLAND YARD: AT PRESENT

The building of Scotland yard, which is generally referred to as New Scotland Yard which is close to Victoria Street will be now called 10 Broadway after being sold for 370 million pounds as a part of a cost-cutting drive. The building was sold after 49 years by UK police to a Middle East owner. The new location of the headquarters will be Curtis Green on the Victoria Embankment. The old premises of headquarters have been now given to Abu Dhabi whereas they are planning to turn it into opulence apartments, shopping complexes, offices.