Srinagar (J&K): The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA for militancy-related crimes in Jammu and Kashmir accounted for 97 percent of the total cases registered under UAPA, the 2021 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data has revealed. An average of 20-25 such cases registered under UAPA are heard in the courts of Jammu and Kashmir every day, but the conviction rate is very low.
To combat this, a State Investigation Agency (SIA), modeled after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), was set up last year as part of a broader anti-militarism strategy, and recently, Special Investigation Units (SIUs) have been formed in each police district. According to officers, this resulted in the police securing 10 UAPA convictions during the past year.
While the corresponding figures for previous years were not available, officials said it was marginally higher this time. Emphasizing the need for special investigation units, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh told ETV Bharat over phone, "Investigation should be time-bound. As the normal investigation machinery at the police station level is responsible for law and order and other duties. Apart from being busy with special cases, sometimes important cases have to be faced. So, we looked for a solution to this problem."
"After the formation of the SIA in November last year and the SIUs a few months back, many cases are in advanced stages of investigation," he said. Currently, the Jammu and Kashmir Police is investigating 1,335 UAPA cases, of which 1,214 are in Kashmir. During the last year, SIA has investigated 80 cases. Out of 884 UAPA cases pending in Jammu and Kashmir, SIA is handling 24.
Of the pending cases, 249 are in the North Kashmir range (Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora), 223 in South Kashmir range (Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam); and 317 in central Kashmir range (Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal).
With a large number of cases at the district level, the process of capacity building started about a few months ago with the formation of the SIU. 14-member teams, under District Superintendents of Police (SPs), tasked with "effective investigation and case building" of UAPA cases, first in five police districts of south Kashmir, followed by was established in Central Kashmir and then in North Kashmir. Srinagar district, due to its caseload, has two of these specialized units.
A senior police officer speaking to ETV Bharat said that the SPs will ensure a better investigation. "Sometimes due to procedural flaws, cases are pending for a very long time, or the accused get bail and the cases are followed very little. This puts a lot of pressure on both the jails and the courts," he said."
