Siddaramaiah airs concern over poor conviction in cases of atrocities against Dalits

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the poor conviction rate in cases relating to atrocities committed against Dalits.

He was speaking at the annual conference of senior police officers at the office of the Director General of Police.

"If the victims are to have faith in the system, the quality of investigations into cases of atrocities must be improved. He gave a clear instruction that a scientifically valid charge sheet should be submitted," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office quoted him as saying.

He asked police officers to put an end to cases of violence against women and children.

'Punishment should be increased. Otherwise, the blame will be on the DCPs themselves for this failure,' the CM warned.

"Our government has given a free hand to the police. My commitment is that we should not poke our nose into the functioning of police but the free hand should not be misused," he added.

Siddaramaiah was critical about the trend of transfers.

"It is a bad development that police officers are eager for transfers and are also using their caste," he told the officers and asked them not to do so.

Underlining that India is a secular country, the CM said the police department should also contribute to strengthen the aspirations of the constitution.

He also stressed upon maximum usage of modern technology saying crime cases can be reduced with its use.