Poor conviction rate a big challenge for Assam Police

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Something is wrong with the Assam Police that often lets criminals go unpunished. In such a situation, the perpetrators of crimes go overboard and browbeat the law-abiding people.

The average conviction rate in the past five years in the state is just eight per cent, and the acquittal rate is over 90 per cent. The police registered 1.07 lakh cases (conviction rate 11.7 per cent) in 2016, 1.09 lakh cases (conviction rate 12 per cent) in 2017, 1.20 lakh cases (conviction rate 5.9 per cent) in 2018, 1.32 lakh cases (conviction rate 6.7 per cent) in 2019 and 1.21 lakh cases (conviction rate 5.5 per cent) in 2020 in the state.

The legal fraternity pinpoints several reasons that have made the situation so lopsided. They are –

(i) The few personnel manning a police station have to write case dairy, attend VIP duty, investigate cases, attend law-and-order duty, and whatnot. The overburdened personnel cannot devote more time to writing case dairy. There were recommendations from various commissions for creating separate investigation and law-and-order wings in police stations, but that is yet to happen.

(ii) Poor infrastructure for the investigation of cases also adds to the pathetic situation. It leads to a delay in filing charge sheets. The submission of charge sheets should not exceed 90 days, but that seldom happens in the state.

(iii) In most cases, police stations do not serve summons issued to witnesses by the court for various reasons, leading to their absence in hearings.

(iv) The police investigation largely depends on oral testimony that leaves enough room for witnesses and sometimes victims turning hostile. In such situations, cases often take a reverse turn and fall flat in the court of law.

(v) Legal experts stress professional and scientific proof that lets cases get logical conclusions even when witnesses and victims turn hostile. The police will have to rely more on professional and scientific evidence to raise the conviction rate.

The common belief is that criminals go unpunished due to poor investigation by police, a source in the Home Department said. "However, this is not always true. We agree to the fact that our investigation standard is not up to mark. In many cases, witnesses and victims turn hostiles. Sometimes, we cannot protect witnesses when the accused browbeat them. They, in some cases, go for understanding with the rival parties. Such things happen when trials go on for years and on. Even victims sometimes reconcile with the situation and tend to take a soft stance. The same is the case with witnesses. The court always seeks evidence. In this process, criminals often go unpunished under the benefit of the doubt. When such things happen, people lose their faith in the police and the legal system. We are trying to plug all holes in the police investigation," the Home Department source added.

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