Govt to ‘sensitise’ cops to SC/ST atrocities act

The police will be the first to receive the training followed by all public prosecutors.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Balwant Singh,said: “Sensitisation is an ongoing process and we have been doing it from time to time. We want to remove all the deficiencies in the system so that conviction rate in cases of atrocities against SC-STs can be improved.”

He added: “We are trying to conduct similar sensitisation sessions for public prosecutors also as they represent the state during the trials of these cases. Talks with the state legal department are on in this regard.”

Acting on the instructions of the department of Social Justice and Empowerment,the state police top brass has recently ordered for special sensitisation seminar and workshop to be conducted for trainee police personnel in the Gujarat Police Academy (GPA) and three other training schools in the state from this month.

A circular of the office of Additional Director General of Police (Training) sent on October 1 to GPA and police training schools has called for making these seminars part of the police training curriculum.

P C Thakur,the in-charge Inspector General of Police,Training,said: “These seminars and workshops will be conducted along with the routine classes on the nitty-gritty of Atrocity Act.”

He added: “Various NGOs,legal experts and representatives of SC-ST communities will interact with the trainee police personnel to sensitise them about the importance of independent and professional investigations and coordination among the police,public prosecutors and the judiciary in making a foolproof case against the accused.”

Thankur said personnel of all ranks up to Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySPs),who are trained at GPA and police training schools,will henceforth be sensitised in the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other issues relating to SCs and STs in the state through these seminars and workshops.

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report,against the national average 32 per cent,the conviction rate in cases of atrocities against SCs/ STs in Gujarat is five per cent.