MUMBAI: Police commissioner Satya Pal Singh said on Monday that several factors such as false complaints and witnesses turning hostile in court were responsible for low conviction rates in rape cases.
He was speaking at an event held in Andheri (W) where producers, scriptwriters, actors and filmmakers from Bollywood were invited for a discussion on how to make the city safer.
"It's incorrect to blame the police solely for conviction rates in rape cases," he said. "A study has shown that in nearly 56% of the rape cases, witnesses turn hostile in court. Also, around 30% of the cases are date rape cases or rapes committed by boyfriends. There are also cases of rape where the accused person is a relative, a friend or a family member."
The police commissioner said that for foolproof investigations, workshops were organized for police officers and written instructions issued to all police stations.
"Instances of crimes against women are sensitive and monitoring of investigation is done by a deputy police commissioner," he said.
Commenting about the Dindoshi gangrape case, where a 16-yer-old victim had been shooed away by two police officers earlier this month and only a non-cognizable offence was filed, Singh said the issue was serious.
"An inquiry has already been initiated against the concerned officers and action will certainly be taken against them," he said.
Singh also fielded questions on the Jiah Khan case, where the actor's mother, Rabiya, alleged that her death was homicide and not suicide. A Delhi medico-legal expert recently said the presence of tissues and blood samples in Jiah's nails hinted at a struggle and asked why the samples were not tested.
"We have launched a re-investigation following the Bombay high court order," Singh said. "Points raised by the expert will be examined."
Lastly, Singh spoke about the strigent security measures put in place for master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's last test match at the Wankhede stadium. "A lot of crowds are expected from India and abroad for this match. We will have something called the three-tier security system in place. We haven't received any threat input for the match," he said. When asked about the possibility of betting at the match, joint commissioner Himanshu Roy said, "We are keeping a close watch on any developments in the betting circuit. We are already prepared for this match and on our radar are big bookies."
On enlisting the help of Bollywood personalities in making Mumbai safer, Singh said the television and film industry had a greater impact on people. "The industry members have agreed to help us whether it is in creating a better image for the Mumbai police force on the silver screen or improving the security scenario in the city," he said.
Lyricist Javed Akhtar said he had composed jingles for the traffic police in the past and the film industry could help make ad films or documentaries on security.
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