The Times of India: Ahmedabad: Saturday, June 27, 2015.
Even as cases
of atrocity against dalit and tribal are on the rise in the state, the special
units to probe such cases lack sufficient manpower.
In response
to an RTI query, police department has revealed that out of 39 posts of deputy
superintendent of police (DySP) in the SCST cells across the state, 26 are
currently vacant. The law mandates that only a police officer not below the
rank of a DySP can investigate atrocity cases.
RTI activist
Kaushik Parmar had sought details regarding crimes of heinous nature committed
against members of SC and ST between 2001 and 2014. He had also asked for the
number of investigators. The data revealed that there was multifold rise in
offences against dalit women from 14 cases of rape in 2001 to 74 in 2014.
On vacant
posts of investigators in SC ST cells, Navsarjan's executive director Manjula
Pradeep said, “Since the govern ment does not appoint officers enough in number
to investigate atrocity cases, the victims have to strive more to secure
justice. The law mandates that a chargesheet is required to be filed in court
within 30 days, but lack of investigators slows down the procedure. If the
state government really cares for the dalit, it must appoint DySPs to fill the
vacant posts.“
The delay in
investigation also comes to the rescue of the accused. Pradeep said that the
conviction rate in atrocity-related cases is meagre 7%.
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