In Meghalaya, crimes against women have skyrocketed. The latest is that of a young girl whose body was seen floating in a stream in Mawlai. Before that the bodies of two young women were fished out from Umiam Lake. It will take some time before the Police can zero in on the killers, in each case. Since conviction rates in Meghalaya are abysmally low, criminals have a field day and repeat their crimes with impunity. It is not known why the investigators fail to file a fool-proof charge sheet. Is it a lackadaisical approach to investigation which is supposed to be a specialized process? The fact that police are never held accountable for failing to improve conviction rates is one reason why they don’t care about outcomes. In the last five years Meghalaya Police statistics show 20,145 cognizable crime cases reported of which only 1,576 cases reached conviction which is approximately 8%.
This low conviction rates have puzzled legal counsels. They point out that the filing of a charge-sheet means the police have thoroughly investigated a crime; it also signifies that law-enforcers have a prima facie case, with strong evidence, to establish that the accused person committed the offence. So why does a police case fall apart when the trial starts in court? Why are the defence lawyers able to punch holes in police contentions, eventually securing freedom for their clients? Perhaps the absence of a Directorate of Prosecution which frees up policemen to concentrate on crime investigation is one reason. Once the Directorate of Prosecution is in place it would be prudent to appoint policemen with a law background in this institution apart from also deputing some of the bright, young officers to get a law degree. Hopefully that would reduce the bungling.
It is expected that police should file the charge-sheet as far as possible within the stipulated time limit of 90 days. Equally importantly, they should ensure that the evidence, gathered scientifically, is incontestable because when cases are not solved over a prolonged period the police can close them by filing ‘A’ summary reports. But the cops forget that what is just another case for them could be a matter of life and death for a rape survivor whose trauma is exacerbated. But more troubling is the fact that the rapist who walks free can repeat his crime several times over. The Meghalaya Police can no longer take their crime investigation job with a ‘business as usual’ attitude!