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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Conviction rate improves in Nagpur city

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Though the State’s conviction rate has been a cause of concern for the Government, Nagpur City Police’s record on this count has come as a breather for it. Compared to the conviction rate of 14 per cent for previous year, the City Police has registered conviction in 26 per cent in six months of current year.

 Conviction rate is number of cases per hundred in which court has held the accused guilty and awarded punishment. Maharashtra’s conviction rate has been a dismal single-digit for past some years. In 2012, it was 9.4 per cent only. This has prompted the State Government to initiate measures to increase conviction rate.

In case of Nagpur city, the data with City Police reveals that conviction rate has registered an increase in first half of this year over the year 2012. Of a total 1,203 cases registered between January and June 2013, accused were convicted in 309 cases. In the year 2010, conviction rate for the city was only 5 per cent, which declined to 4 per cent in 2011. In 2012, it was 14 per cent. This year, so far, it is 26 per cent.

Conviction rate
Interestingly, there has been increase in conviction rate in cases related to murder, kidnapping, dacoity, burglary, molestation, and other crimes registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC). Conviction rate in murder cases is 38 per cent in first half of this year, as against 25 per cent, 21 per cent, and 14 per cent in the years 2012, 2011, and 2010. Similarly, there is an improvement in cases related to kidnapping (30 per cent this year), dacoity (75 per cent), burglary (40 per cent), molestation (40 per cent).

Still, there exist areas of concern. Conviction rate in cases of attempt to murder, hurt, dowry, rape, preparation for dacoity, robbery, cheating etc. Conviction rate is low in attempt to murder (20 per cent), hurt (4 per cent), and dowry (3 per cent). In cases of preparation for dacoity, riot, and cheating cases, conviction is nil so far this year.

According to Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Saxena, improvement in overall conviction rate is a result of sounder investigations and better co-ordination between public prosecutors and investigators. “The improvement is a good sign for City Police. We had arranged many co-ordination meetings of prosecution and police officers. We asked investigation officers for proper investigation and also directed Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCP) to go through details of every chargesheet,” he said. In some cases, conviction got affected as witnesses turned hostile, he added.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sunil Kolhe said that  Police Department’s effort to appoint personnel at every court to look after the cases and trials yielded positive results. He further said that City Police was following strictly the practice of ensuring that sessions trial cases were sent to the court only after being examined and scrutinised by DCP, he added.

Good 
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Cases Conviction
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Murder 38%
Kidnapping 30%
Dacoity 75%
Burglary 40%
Molestation 40%
Other IPC     40%
-----------------------------------------

Poor 
-----------------------------------------
Cases Conviction
-----------------------------------------
Attempt to Murder 20%
Rape                     11%
Prep for Dacoity 0%
Robbery                 8%
Riot                       0%
Cheating                 0%
Hurt                        4%
498                         3%
304(A)                   6%
--------------------------------------------

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