Drug cases: Assam Police focuses on timely filing of charge sheets

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The State Government has introduced a monitoring system to ensure timely filing of charge sheets against drug peddlers and dealers.

A Home Department source said, "An auto-generated SMS alert goes to every SP and OC reminding about timely submission of charge sheets in drug-related cases."

Many cases fail to get their desired outcomes due to weak charge sheets filed against the accused. Evidence always plays a role in the court, and inept evidence collection by the police makes cases weak. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in 2020, the conviction rate was just 1.53 per cent against the national conviction rate of 14.35 per cent.

The source said, "Since May 2021, the police registered 2,363 cases and arrested 4,052 people in drug-related cases alone in the state. It's a big challenge for the police not to allow these people to go unpunished due to weak evidence or charge sheets. We have imparted training to investigation officers on the Digital forensic Dark Net and cryptocurrencies.

"A section of investigation officers cannot write First Information Reports (FIRs) properly. We have devised model FIRs and circulated them in the police stations."

According to sources, every police station in the state has an additional burden from drug-related cases due to a shortage of manpower. To cap it all, most of the IOs are not technically sound.

The source said, "Our focus is on time-bound and professional investigation of drug-related cases. We keep in touch with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). We take satellite imageries of suspected areas. Such imageries help us to locate the transit routes of drugs. We get encouraging responses from the public. The police have launched a mobile App – Drugs Free Assam — recently. We have received a large number of drug-related complaints and information in this App. Peddlers try to transport drugs through Assam every day despite strict vigil by the police. Drugs have reached every pocket in the state, and the police seize drugs and arrest peddlers almost every day. If the conviction rate of drug-related cases does not improve, the war against drugs may suffer a setback."

Also Read:   Assam Police Seizes Drugs Worth Rs 130 Crores

Also watch: