NCRB report belittles State police
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy : TNN

Guwahati, June 22 2013 : Manipur Police's lax approach in investigating criminal cases was recorded as the worst in the country in 2012 with the latest National Crime Records Bu-reau (NCRB) report listing Manipur as having the country's highest pendency rate (86.7 per cent).

Manipur is followed by Meghalaya with 78.4 per cent and Assam with 61.2 per cent.

In Manipur, while the total number of cases for investigation, including the pending cases from previous years was 17,168 at the beginning of 2012, Manipur Police hardly dealt with only 2274 cases till the end of the year.

A total of 14,893 cases remained unattended in the state till the end of 2012 .

"The worst performance by Manipur Police is a result of incompetence and lack of expertise in the state police in dealing with modern day crimes.

Manipur Police are still using an outdated method for extracting necessary information in a criminal case.

Moreover, lack of a sophisticated forensic lab is also adding to the misery.

The state police should be upgraded to meet the desired results," said M Rakesh, an advocate and human rights activist in Imphal.

Police personnel during a preliminary investigation at a crime spot as locals look on

In 2012, Manipur Police submitted final reports in only 2179 cases and chargesheets in merely 95 cases.

One case was withdrawn by Manipur government in 2012 .

While Meghalaya has recorded the second highest rate of pendency with 78.4 per cent, Assam Police have the third worst performance in the country.

Assam has the third highest pendency rate in the country with 61.2 per cent.

"The total number of cases recorded in the beginning of 2012, including the pending cases from the previous years, was 161613 while at the end of the year, there were 98844 cases remained pending in Assam," said the NCRB report.

Among those cases which were investigated by the state police, Assam Police could submit the "final reports" in 26465 cases and "charge-sheets" in 31237 only.

Defending the poor figures of its performance, a senior official of Assam Police said the figures were the result of low police strength in the state.

"Moreover, in many cases, police have lost traces of many witnesses.

The separation of law and order department from the investigation wing is a must to lessen the burden of pending cases in the state," said the official.

The state police are undergoing a two-day long review meeting starting from Friday at the Assam Police headquarters here.