Focus on timely chargesheet in crimes against women and POCSO cases, says Delhi Police Commissioner
new delhi: From focusing on timely filing of chargesheet in cases of crimes against women to taking up cases with the newly sanctioned Directorate of Prosecution as quickly as possible, Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava discussed several issues during the recent crime-review meeting between the top brass of the force.
Police sources said that Shrivastava held a meeting with senior officers in the city police on September 19, where he directed all Deputy Commissioners of Police to closely supervise cases related to crimes against women and those registered under the POCSO Act. "They were asked to ensure that no chargesheet is pending unduly beyond the prescribed time limit," police sources said.
In the first five months of the current year, over 1,300 cases related to crimes against women were registered with Delhi Police. According to data, more than 850 of these have been solved.
In the meeting, the Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) was asked to coordinate with the Directorate of Prosecution for the prompt disposal of case files being sent for scrutiny. Millennium Post, on January 21, 2020, had first reported that the city police might be getting its exclusive Directorate of Prosecution services to advise officers on legal points of the cases they are investigating.
Following this, another letter from the Commissioner's office was sent to all DCPs which said that around 10 per cent of heinous crimes and serious cheating cases registered by the Delhi Police needed institutionalised legal support and as a result, the Directorate of Prosecution was being set up under the direct supervision of the Special CP (Legal Cell).
The top cop, during the recent meeting, also directed officers that preventive action, including action under Sections 47 and 48 of the Delhi Police Act, MCOCA, the opening of history sheets for fit cases be stepped up for ensuring effective deterrence. The data from the city police revealed that while more than 2,900 such arrests were made in the first two-and-a-half months of this year, only 647 preventive arrests were made between March 16 to May 27, pointing towards a decline of over 76 per cent in preventive arrests after the COVID-19 outbreak.
In the meeting, another important direction was to step up the detection of cases under the NDPS Act. The source of firearms be identified and legal action against them should be prioritised. In the first five months of 2020, Delhi Police have recovered over 800 firearms.
