Recovery of property, detection of cases go up in Prakasam

Raising of elite SWAT force feather in the cap of district police

Property recovery and detection of cases by police went up significantly in Prakasam district as also incidents of crime during 2019.

There has been a significant increase in property recovery at 12% in 2019, and the detection percentage was 80% when compared with the previous year, thanks to proactive steps taken by the police in the district, according to Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal.

The year saw the raising of an elite SWAT force in the State for the first time at the district level on the lines of the National Security Guards and the Organisation for Counter-Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS) to counter terror attacks.

With the launch of online Spandana programme and live-streaming of the proceedings on the social media to ensure transparency, more people, including those living overseas, came forward to lodge complaints with the police and sought protection of the law, he explained while referring to 7,145 cases reported during 2019 as against 6,984 cases in the previous year. There has been about 50% decrease in the number of murders to 43 in 2019.

A sensational case detected during 2019 was the one relating to the gangrape of a 17-year-old girl as the police arrested the six accused within hours of the incident coming to light.

Murder cases solved

The ability of the police was fully put to test as the police after an intense probe involving use of latest technology tools nabbed a man in connection with the murder of his wife and daughter in the fag end of the year. Police were clueless on recovery of charred bodies of the duo on the outskirts of Ongole as the man had set ablaze the bodies.

The number of grave property offences decreased to 57 in 2019 from 63 in 2018. While the stolen property recovered was 66.73% of ₹4.13 crore lost in 2018, the recovery went up to 81.27% to ₹2.20 crore in 2019, according to a report compiled by the District Crimes Record Bureau (DCRB).

As many as 2,191 cases came up for trial in various courts in the district and 101 ended in conviction of the accused. Cases relating to atrocities on SCs/STS came down to 168 during the year under review from 229 in the previous year. Six SC/ST atrocity cases ended in conviction of the accused.

Notable seizures included the recovery of 714.38 kg of ganja from two inter-State gangs during the fag end of the year by the police who also created a record of sorts by unearthing a gutkha manufacturing unit and seizing of contraband worth in all ₹4.8 crore.

“It is 687.21% of increase of the enforcement work,” said the SP, who during the year received Gfiles Goverance award for improving administrative efficiency through innovative use of technology. Project JIO designed to empower grassroots’ level personnel in cracking cases also won national recognition in the form of Skoch Order of Merit.