Karnataka sets up 33 special police stations to deal with SC/ST atrocity cases

Come April 14, Karnataka will have 33 special police stations to exclusively deal with atrocities against the SC and ST communities.

The special police stations, announced in the 2023-24 state budget, will finally become functional from Ambedkar Jayanthi. The move will enable the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) to not just inquire but also probe the violations of the Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act.

In January, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who chaired the State Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting, had expressed anguish over the decline in the low conviction rate in the POA cases despite empowering the DCRE. The conviction rate has declined from 2.16 per cent in 2021 to 0.07 per cent in 2024. Also, the Social Welfare Department records show that counter complaints had been filed in 28 per cent of atrocity cases.

“The conviction rate has not crossed 3 per cent for decades and it reflects on the shoddy investigation. Delay in investigating especially in cases of murder and rape will delay the case proceedings in the court and this will give scope to destroy evidence. The burden of proof is on the victim. So, the police should speed up the process of investigation and file the chargesheets within a stipulated time to ensure justice and improve the conviction rate,” Siddaramaiah had noted and instructed the officials to increase the conviction rates to above 10 per cent and to hold a meeting of public prosecutors and the police officers once every three months to review the progress.

In June 2024, State Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister H.K. Patil, who announced the decision to designate 33 units as special police stations, had stated that 7,633 cases had been registered under the SC,ST Prevention of Atrocities Act since 2022, but only 68 cases had resulted in conviction.

Karnataka will establish a police station in every district and two in Bengaluru, and each station will be headed by an officer of the DySP or ACP rank. The initiative is estimated to cost the exchequer Rs 73 crore annually. The complaints of atrocity should initially be lodged at the local police station, which will then transfer them to the special police stations. The ADGP (DCRE) assigns the investigating officer to take over the case from the subdivisional police officer (SDPO) and submit the report to the court.

“Often the local police are burdened with multiple responsibilities like law and order, VIP movement, traffic control and election duties. This used to cause the delay in filing the chargesheets within the stipulated 60 days. The delay had led to witnesses turning hostile, which impacted the conviction rate,” Patil had reasoned.

With this, Karnataka joins five others states—Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh—who have set up the dedicated police stations to deal with atrocity cases.