Pointing out that the initiative of assigning grave crime cases to Superintendents of Police (SPs) to fast-track the investigation has started yielding results, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) K.V. Rajendranath Reddy has said that 102 cases related to crimes against women and children have been disposed of in the courts in the last one year and the accused have been convicted.
Of the 122 grave offence cases assigned to SPs, convictions were made in 102 cases. Each SP was assigned five sensational cases in their respective districts, he said.
“Depending upon the gravity of the case, particularly gangrape, rape and cases related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and murders, were assigned to SPs for fast-tracking investigation,” the DGP told The Hindu on August 10 (Thursday).
Of the 102 cases disposed of in the courts, the accused in three cases were awarded death penalty, 37 got life sentence and the accused in 62 cases were imprisoned for seven to 20 years depending upon the gravity of the case. There was no acquittal even in a single case. Gone were the days when the victims used to do the rounds of courts and wait for justice. Now, the accused are convicted in a very short period,” he said.
Collection of evidence and processing
The DGP said that the department was focussing on collecting technical and scientific evidence such as CCTV footage, DNA profiles and getting them examined by experts at Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), arranging test identification parade of the accused in the presence of the judges and collecting all available physical evidence for effective prosecution and conviction in the cases.
In total, 14,000 grave offence cases were assigned to Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), CIs and SIs for speedy investigation, of which 928 have been disposed off, he said.
“We are holding coordination meetings with public prosecutors, forensic experts and the investigation officers to discuss and improve skills pertaining to collection of evidence and producing the witnesses in courts to improve the conviction rate,” Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said.
Instructions have been issued to the officers to respond to the complaints quickly, collect scientific and physical evidence from the scene of offence, he added.
