Andhra records 20% increase in cases against policemen; ranks 4th in India
Jammu and Kashmir tops the list with 704 cases against the police in 2022 followed by Maharashtra with 375 cases
By Newsmeter Network Published on 6 Dec 2023 9:30 AM GMT
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Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh has ranked fourth in the country in the cases booked against police personnel in 2022.
According to NCRB Crime in India report, 221 cases were registered against the police which accounts for a 20 percent increase in 2021. In 2021, 185 cases were registered against the police in 2021.
Jammu and Kashmir tops the list with 704 cases against the police in 2022 followed by Maharashtra with 375 cases, Rajasthan with 227 cases, and Andhra Pradesh with 221 cases.
In October 2023, a Dalit man accused Padmanabham police station officials in the Visakhapatnam district of meting out third-degree torture to him over allegations of him stealing a rooster.
The family of the victim, Bandevarapu Papu, 24, claimed that one of the constables kicked him and broke his femur into two. The alleged torture sparked a protest by the relatives of Papu in front of the police station. The Vizag city police registered cases against two police constables and suspended the two constables and one sub-inspector of police.
Out of the 221 cases, 98 have been charge-sheeted. Arrests have been made in 139 cases. 19 cases saw the final report being submitted, and 9 cases have been withdrawn. Trials were completed in 14 cases. There were zero convictions, while the acquittal rate stood at 100 percent in all the 14 cases that were disposed of by the courts.
It may be recalled that in 2021, of the total 185 cases against the police, 61 were charge-sheeted. Arrests were made in 103 cases and final reports were submitted in 18 cases. 11 cases were withdrawn and trials were completed in 12 cases. There were zero convictions while the acquittal rate stood at 100 percent in all the 12 cases that were disposed of by the courts.
It may be recollected that in 2019, AP police admitted that they had erroneously submitted false data and that the total cases against cops were 111, and not 1,681.
Regarding custodial deaths, AP ranks fourth after Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh in 2022. A total of seven persons died in police custody of which five happened to be remand prisoners. Out of these six cases, a magisterial inquiry was ordered in all the cases.
The AP police have been coming under criticism for suppressing the protests of the opposition parties in parts of the state.
