NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION open hearings regarding atrocities on Scheduled Castes in the country to have direct interaction with the affected persons belonging to Scheduled Castes. The Division further provides its views / opinion on various Bills/draft legislations referred to it for better protection and promotion of human rights. The Law Division has come out with few important publications like “NHRC & HRDs : The Growing Synergy”, etc. There is also a Focal Point for Human Rights Defenders who is accessible to HRDs round the clock through (i) Mobile No. 9810298900, (ii) Fax No. 24651334, and (iii) E-mail: hrd-nhrc@nic.in. 3.14 The Law Division is headed by a Registrar (Law), who is assisted by Presenting Officers, a Joint Registrar, a number of Deputy Registrars, Assistant Registrars, Section Officers and other secretarial staff. 3.15 The Investigation Division is headed by an officer of the rank of Director General of Police, assisted by one DIG and three Senior Superintendents of Police. Each Senior Superintendent of Police heads a group of investigative officers (comprising of Deputy Superintendents of Police and Inspectors). The functioning of Investigation Division is multi dimensional, details of which are as follows: (a) Spot Enquiries: The Investigation Division conducts spot enquiries and recommends suitable action in the cases revealing human rights violation. The spot enquiries conducted by the Investigation Division not only bring out the truth before the Commission, but also send a message to all concerned – complainants, public servants, etc. The Commission orders a Spot enquiry in a range of cases concerning a variety of public authorities – from illegal detention, extra judicial killing, etc. by the police to the lack of facilities in a hospital leading to avoidable deaths. Spot enquiries enhance the confidence of general public too and instill their faith in NHRC’s role in protection of Human Rights. The Investigation Division also gives its comments / observations, whenever sought, in the cases of advice / analysis, besides monitoring cases whenever referred to it. (b) Custodial Deaths : As per the guidelines issued by the Commission to the State authorities, the latter are supposed to intimate the Commission in case of any death occurring in custody (whether in police or judicial custody) within 24 hours. The Investigation Division, on receiving such intimations, analyzes the reports in order to find out if there was any human rights violation involved. In order to make the analysis more professional and accurate, Investigation Division seeks help from the forensic experts on the panel of NHRC. (c) Fact Finding Cases : The Investigation Division also calls upon different authorities to submit reports in “Fact Finding” Cases as directed by the Commission. The Investigation Division critically analyzes these reports with a view to assist the Commission in deciding 34 ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017