Low crime conviction rate dents police morale in City

Bangalore witnessed three major triple murders in 2009, in Tilak Nagar, Ramamurthy Nagar and RT Nagar. The City police managed to regain the trust of the public by cracking the Tilak Nagar case, where Satyabhama (84), her daughter Vijayalakshmi (55) and daughter-in-law Jayashree (45) were found dead in their house on January 20. The assailant had ransacked the house and taken away cash and jewellery.

In the Ramamurthynagar murder case, on October 20, Rahul Das, his wife Pushpalatha and their eight-year old daughter Agneesha were brutally murdered. Initially, the police termed it a murder for gain, but later, the case took a different turn and the police now claim it to be a supari killing.

However, the RT Nagar murder of IISc mathematics professor Purushotham Lal Sachdev and his family continues to haunt the police. “We are on the right direction and have zeroed in on the accused (servants working at professor’s house) but since they are in Bangladesh border, we are trying to talk to other agencies to nab them,” said Joint Commissioner Alok Kumar.

Meanwhile, many double murders, murders for gain and crimes of passion and vendetta were reported. Many of the cases were solved, but the Jayanagar murder case, where senior citizen Rangan and his wife were done in, remains unsolved.
The police lament that despite their hard work, the conviction rate has been low. Unless the conviction rate shows an upward trend, there is sure to be a dent in the police morale. “We have reached a stage where the complainant keeps running to the court to claim his, her stolen gold or valuables while the offender walks out freely within a fortnight of his arrest,” said a police official.

A section of the young officers blame the judicial system as many criminals are exploiting the loopholes in the system. At the same time, a few officers are frank to state that they are not finding time to make a fool-proof case in court.