State Police Chief Loknath Behera on Sunday said the transfer of District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) K.G. Simon to Pathanamthitta district would in no way affect the ongoing investigation into the Koodathayi serial murder case.
Speaking to reporters during a district-level police adalat, Mr. Behera clarified that Mr. Simon, who was the head of the Special Investigation team, would continue as supervising officer along with the new role and give the required support to the team members.
On allegations that the police were yet to gather concrete evidence against the arrested in the case, he said the investigation was being done on the basis of strong evidence, and that the remaining part of it was with the forensic investigation team. “Cracking a case after 14 long years was a big challenge. But our investigators did it, making all of us proud,” he added.
On Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) cases against Alan Shuhaib and Thaha Fasal for their alleged link with Maoist functionaries, Mr. Behera said he would not be able to comment on the issue as the case was currently being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
“In this case, the police speak only on the basis of concrete evidence,” he explained.
Awareness measures
Referring to the field-level awareness measures taken up by the police to reduce incidents of child abuse, Mr. Behera said he had directed officers to be keen on gathering scientific evidence against suspects while registering cases under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “The conviction rate in POCSO cases is less because the victims turn hostile in most cases. Around 90% of suspects in such cases are either related to the victims’ families, and increasing the conviction rate is a huge challenge,” he said.
According to Mr. Behera, the opening of the proposed special courts for POCSO cases would be a big step to end the delay in trials and improve conviction rate.
