‘Out of nearly 3K cases of crimes against women and children, only 84 have reached prosecution stage’
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 19: UDP MLA from Nongpoh, Mayralborn Syiem, on Tuesday voiced concern over the slow prosecution of cases of crimes against women and children in the state.
Talking about the issue on the floor of the House during the Question Hour, Syiem said there are a total number of 2821 registered cases, out of which, only 84 have reached the stage of prosecution.
Acknowledging the different initiatives highlighted by Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Home department, Prestone Tynsong, with regard to expediting investigation and charge-sheeting of cases, the UDP legislator said there are still fewer cases that have been prosecuted.
“I would suggest that the government takes steps in fast tracking the investigation and filing of charge sheet. Maybe the government can hold consultations with the judiciary to speed up the prosecution of all the cases which have been already charge-sheeted,” he said.
Taking part in the discussion, senior TMC legislator Dr Mukul Sangma said that the delay in prosecution of cases is a matter which needs to be addressed.
“As the saying goes ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, it is important to put onus on those who are responsible for the delay. I am keen to know the number of charge-sheeted cases where there is a delay in ultimate prosecution,” Sangma said.
Responding to the matter raised, the Deputy CM appreciated the concern of the Nongpoh legislator. “It is really discouraging since the stages of prosecution and conviction take a lot of time,” Tynsong said.
According to Tynsong, the Police department is going all out to complete the process of charge-sheeting and subsequently submitting it to the court for the disposal of the cases.
“We will not sit idle on the issue and we will pursue this matter. We will make sure that the procedure in the court is completed within the time frame,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy CM had informed the House that East Khasi Hills has the highest number of crimes registered from 2020-2023 with 5,196 cases.
The Nongpoh MLA, meanwhile, also flagged the lack of equipment in Forensic Laboratory in the state as several samples are still sent outside the state for testing.
Syiem inquired about the status and capacity of the present lab in Shillong and the steps taken to improve the facility to fast track investigation.
Tynsong said that the government has recently established a dedicated forensic directorate under the Home department. Proposals for enhancing the department’s functionality have been submitted and approved, including the acquisition of essential instruments to expedite investigations, minimizing the need to send samples outside the state, he added.
To a supplementary question of the Nongpoh MLA with regard to the steps taken to address manpower shortage in the police department, Tynsong said that a recent meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma discussed strategies to fill these gaps at various levels, including offices of respective Superintendents of Police, police stations, women police stations, and outposts.
He added that the DGP is assessing the total manpower requirements, adding that government plans to create and sanction positions accordingly.