The decision to appoint legal advisers in every sub-division of the state stems from the police “mishandling” of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at state-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata in August that led to outrage and large-scale protests, an official said.

“The state administration thinks it was at no fault in the RG Kar case. The police also arrested the right person within a day of the incident. Even after that, the government received brickbats. To rectify it, and prevent a repeat of such incidents, the state government decided to absorb legal practitioners so that they could guide the police in such cases. These legal aides would guide police in proper protocol of investigation in sensitive cases,” an official said.

The decision to hire 99 legal advisers was taken at a recent Cabinet meeting. It is to be noted that the state has 69 sub-divisions. “Those sub-divisions that are bigger may have more than one legal adviser, and that will be decided later,” an official said.

Initially, it was decided in the Cabinet meeting that legal advisers would be hired for one year on contractual basis. The detailed qualifications and requirements are yet to be decided by the state Home Department.  “The state police is adopting a new strategy after taking lessons from the incident at RG Kar hospital. That is, arresting the accused as soon as the complaint is lodged, giving utmost respect to the demands of the victim’s family and being extremely careful while giving statements about the incident to the media,” the officer added.