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Detection of cases is easy job, but conviction is difficult: Thane top cop
Two years ago, a 20-year-old Kalwa resident, filed a case against a stalker and managed to send him to jail.
Two years ago, a 20-year-old Kalwa resident, filed a case against a stalker and managed to send him to jail.
For the police, it was a difficult case.
As there were no CCTV cameras in the area, the police spoke to more than 60 people in the vicinity, searching for eyewitnesses and found seven people and the girl got justice. Giving the woman confidence and support, the police made it a watertight case.
The accused got rigorous imprisonment for six months.
Last year’s report shows the Thane Police commissionerate’s marked increase in the conviction rate with 378 convictions. The police commissioner has awarded the officers, including those from a police naik to police inspector, who made a difference.
While detection is easy, making the case strong to punish culprits is a tough task. It takes a lot of patience and months of investigation.
Assistant police inspector of Kalwa, Tanaji Rode was one of the officers felicitated for making a strong case of Kalwa stalking.
Rode said, “The girl was scared of the stalker and decided to lodge a complaint in 2018. We noted her statement. But we had to investigate whether he actually stalked her. There was no CCTV footage. We spoke to the people in her area and took down around 60 statements. We chose seven out of them who had seen the man follow the girl to her coaching class or home. We then traced his location.”
Rode said they also had to ensure that the witnesses do not turn hostile so he was in continuous contact with all of them and resolved any issues.
In another such case highlighted by the police commissionerate, assistant police inspector of Mumbra, RD Jadhav, helped a witness in a murder case in his education, marriage and also shifted him to a safe place to ensure no harm was caused to him by the accused.
Jadhav said, “A man murdered his cousin in 2016 when the girl’s parents rejected his marriage proposal. He came to Mumbra from Nashik, stabbed the girl and her father and fled. He took shelter in a nearby slum. Two boys, unaware of the crime, provided him food and shelter. We made them witnesses as they had seen his blood-soaked hands, clothes and injuries on his head.”
When the case was heard in court, the accused’s friends threatened and assaulted the witnesses. Jadhav said, “They were even offered money. Tired of the harassment, one of the boys shifted to his native place. We counselled the other boy and encouraged him to complete his education. We got him a job and helped him get married. The accused got life imprisonment after five years of the crime.”
In another case, a senior police inspector investigated a murder case and found an autorickshaw driver who had ferried an accused.
Senior police inspector KA Karpe in 2018 was investigating a murder of a contractor who was killed by a labourer. Karpe said, “The contractor had stopped the payment of the labourer so he killed him. After investigation, we found an autorickshaw driver near Thane station who identified the accused and made a witness in court. The accused got a life sentence.”
An improvement in Thane, says CP
Police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar lauded his personnel for the good conviction rate.
The commissionerate sought convictions in 266 cases in 2018; the number increased by 112 in 2019 with 378 convictions.
An officer from the commissionerate said, “We have awarded 378 officers, one from each of the case and also 28 court clerks who helped in the process. Out of 378, 280 officers were awarded in person as they are still with Thane commissionerate. We have also sent certificate of appreciation to 65 officers who have been transferred during this period and 33 officers who have retired from service.”
The police commissioner said that while detection is easy, conviction is difficult. “The process after arresting the accused to getting a conviction is long and difficult. Many a times, evidence gets misplaced or witnesses turn hostile. Our officers have to be constantly on their toes to file a proper charge sheet to ensure the case is strong.”
He said that the officers have to simultaneously solve other cases or carry out bandobast duties. “Most of the officers deal with all these challenges efficiently. We have thus decided to appreciate this dedication to work through this award.”
The convictions include life sentences too; in 25 cases of molestation, the accused were sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more.
Pravin Pawar, additional commissioner of police, crime, said, “In molestation cases, women think twice before lodging a complaint for various reasons. We appeal to women to understand that any complaint will be taken seriously and it is our priority to give justice.”
