Weak offence reports responsible for low conviction

International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) Executive Director Vivek Menon said here today that the major reason for wildlife cases extending for decades and offenders even going scot free was due to weak offence reports.
"There is a need to tackle the problem effectively and we have initiated a pioneering training to facilitate accurate offence report filing," he said.
An offence report is the first report prepared by officials at the crime scene and "this forms the pillar on which an entire case is fought. If this foundation is weak, the entire structure turns against the prosecutor," Menon said.

The first of its kind ten-day 'Advanced Enforcement Training for Offence Report Writing' is being currently held in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department at Kaziranga National Park, under IFAW-WTI's Van Rakshak (Guardians of the Wild) Project.
Altogether 15 frontline forest officials- seven from Kaziranga National Park and four from Manas National Park and two each from Pobitora and Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuaries are participating in the ongoing training.
The training team, headed by senior conservationist Bhupendra Nath Talukdar, comprises two senior lawyers, a public pleader and IFAW-WTI staff.
The training would include among others crime scene investigation, methods of seizures and arrest, Indian wildlife laws, their interpretation and effective use to prepare and file legally correct papers in court.