‘Conviction rate in heinous crimes low’

LAHORE:Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said conviction rate in murder, kidnapping, robbery and rape cases is disappointing, so the public prosecutors should work hard to increase the conviction rate in such heinous crimes.

He was addressing a meeting chaired by him at the Civil Secretariat here on Thursday. The meeting reviewed the two-year performance of the Punjab Public Prosecution Department. Minister for Prosecution Ch Zaheer, Additional Chief Secretary Home, Secretary Prosecution, Prosecutor General Punjab and officers concerned were present on the occasion.

Raja Basharat urged the prosecutors to assist the police in the investigation without any delay as soon as the incident occurs. He directed the department to make such amendments in the law so that rape victim does not have to go round the court repeatedly.

Earlier in the briefing, the secretary said, “In the last two years, the conviction rate was 28pc in murder, 3pc in kidnapping, 6pc in rape and 24pc in theft and robbery. The department is facing shortage of buildings, vehicles, staff, budget, IT and training facilities while 731 out of 3,866 posts are vacant. Only Rs 25 is allocated in the budget for preparing the file of a case. Prosecution office buildings in Okara, Layyah and Sialkot have been completed, while office buildings in the other 13 districts will be completed by next year. The process of computerisation of the department is under way, so far records of more than 236,000 cases have been uploaded."