In Bengaluru, police face 36,000 unsolved cases

BENGALURU: Two years ago, Corporation Bank manager Jyothi Uday (45) was attacked inside an ATM kiosk near Hudson Circle. The status: Police are yet to file a chargesheet as they are on the lookout for the attacker.
Last November, a much-decorated re tired Air Commodore Parvez Khokhar (71) was murdered at his house in a gated community near Electronics City .The status: Here again, the police are yet to file a chargesheet as they are yet to untangle the mystery . The two cases invited media attention yet the police have not been able to crack them. These are two of the 36,000 cases that Bengaluru Police have not been able to solve. And hence, there is no chargesheet filed.

Police Commissioner NS Megharikh conceded: "Lack of effective training in solving crimes, shortage of policemen and frequent transfers of investigating officers (inspectors) from one place to another are the primary reasons for the piling up of unsolved cases." According to him, the police department has planned training programmes, workshops and seminars on effective case handling and improving investigative skills to detect cases early . "In fact, we are sending officers overseas to learn how policemen in other countries go about solving the cases," he said.

Former DGP ST Ramesh pointed out that the police did everything they could in the ATM attack case. "Still, the case remains unsolved," he said. "In Karnataka, over 1.20 lakh cases are filed annually . The solution is for the police to review undetected cases from the past years and appoint a high-ranking officer to monitor them," he said.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) SK Pattanayak felt that more efforts are required. "We review cases every month at various levels. The DG and commissioners hold review meetings. One option is to transfer such cases to the CID but it takes a long time," he said. On frequent transfers, he said: "We have tried to bring in stability . Lower officers remain in their posts for two years, while senior officers stay on for one year."

Professor of law Babu Mathew said the government should strengthen police stations with manpower and allow police sufficient time to investigate cases.