Enhancing conviction rate a priority for Maha Police: DGP

The Maharashtra Police is making serious efforts to enhance conviction rate in cases filed by police, state's new Director General of Police Pravin Dixit said today.
"Our priority is to look into this aspect that despite proper and thorough investigation by the police, the accused walk free due to certain reasons," Dixit, who is here on a visit to Vidarbha region, told reporters.
"We have talked to the Director of Prosecution and law department officials in Mantralaya so that cases are properly presented and fought with vigour by prosecution lawyers," he said.
To a question that prosecution lawyers are not up to the mark and are responsible for poor rate of conviction, the DGP said the issue was being discussed with law officials.

Efforts are also on to make the police force "people-oriented" and seek their help in curbing the crime graph, he said.
Dixit, who was Nagpur's Commissioner of Police a few years back, said the 'police mitra' (police friends) scheme was paying dividends. Instead of street patrolling during night by policemen, the 'police mitra' were proving to be a good substitute, he said.

The decrease in deployment of security personnel for patrolling was helping the force reduce stress among the policemen, he said.
Dixit, who visited the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district, said there was much improvement in the situation there and people were coming forward to help the police in the fight against Naxalism.

To a query, he said the plan to replace Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalions with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Gadchiroli has been abandoned. The CRPF has been retained in the district, he added.