Odisha govt introduces CM’s medal for excellence in investigation under 5T

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to introduce ‘Chief Minister’s Medal For Excellence in Investigation’ for police officers and vigilance sleuths. In the first batch, 64 cops have been selected to receive the medals, which will be given under the government’s 5T (transparency, teamwork, technology, timeframe and transformation) initiative.
The 64 recipients include officers from the state Crime Branch, special task force, economic offences wing, commissionerate police, district police and vigilance directorate. The award will be given to the best investigating police officers every year. Additional chief secretary (home department) is the chairman of the state level award committee.
“Like the Union home minister’s medal for excellence in investigation, we have instituted the chief minister’s medal for excellence in investigation. The CM’s award and recognition will boost the morale of the officers,” a senior home officer said.
A few months ago, director general of police Abhay had expressed displeasure over poor investigation into several cases and asked the investigators to improve their professional efficiency. While addressing the 62nd senior police officers’ conference recently, Abhay said the professional investigation of all crimes remains a priority for the Odisha police.
“A large number of investigations have failed the trial test. Acquittal of cases as proportion of the total decided cases is high. We must improve the investigation as well as the follow-up trial. We must remain accountable to the law for all our actions,” Abay had said at the conference.
It must be noted the conviction rate in Odisha is one of the lowest in the country. As per the national crime records bureau (NCRB), the state’s conviction rate stood at 9.5% in 2015, 10.4% in 2016, 9.3% in 2017, 5.7% in 2018 and 21.5% in 2019.
“Substandard investigation and poor collection of scientific evidence are the main reasons for cases turning weak in court. Lack of supervision by senior officers like SPs, absence of adequate numbers of good government lawyers and shortage of judges are other major factors for poor conviction. Police are unable to concentrate on proper investigation because of shortage of staff and extra work burden,” S N Mishra, a retired police officer said.
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