Conviction rate in Hyd police commissionerate is very low, allege social activists

Hyderabad: The total number of cases convicted by the Hyderabad City police are 181, since 2018, according to the data released by the Hyderabad city commissioner. Life imprisonment was given to the convicts in 45 cases while in two cases, imprisonment was given for 20 years.

"Hyderabad city police follows up every case to its logical legal end. Punishing the guilty and sending them to jails is our goal. Cooperation from the community has been of great support to us. Thank you all for helping us at every stage," said Anjani Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad.

In 26 cases, more than 10 years of imprisonment was given to the convicts, in one case, 7 years of imprisonment was given while in four cases, the convicts were sentenced to five years imprisonment. In 14 cases, three years of imprisonment was given to the convicts and in 24 cases, convicts were given two years imprisonment.

In connection with 62 cases, the convicts were sentenced to one year and below jail.

While the city police released the data of the conviction, the citizens are sceptical about the number of cases filed and other data related to the cases registered with the police department. "It would be great to see the number of complaints and cases filed from 2018 till date. The average response time between the complaint and the FIR, FIR to charge-sheet and then the conviction rate should also be revealed," said Vijay Gopal, an activist.

Citizens are also cynical about the conviction rate in the city. "There are 108 police stations in Hyderabad zone. No doubt every year in each police station, at least 1,000 cases will be registered in Hyderabad city. It would be great to know the acquittal rate also. The conviction of just 181 guilties is very less and maybe hundreds of cases are still under trial in courts," said Bhagat, a criminal defence lawyer.