UP police to study Bihar's success in crime control

Impressed with the success of 'speedy trial' of criminals to control crime in Bihar, neighbouring Uttar Pradesh police is set to study it to adopt the concept soon, officials said on Thursday.

"A team of Uttar Pradesh police will visit Bihar to study the concept of speedy trial and its technique including legal fee effective use to control crime," a senior police official told rediff.com in Patna.

Bihar police officials said that their UP counterparts will study their formula to control crime to understand the useful strategy of speedy trial for conviction of criminals.

UP police officials will also meet Bihar police chief Abhyanand, the man behind the speedy trials and convictions of criminals, to get some other tips on how to control crime in their state.

Soft spoken Abhyanand said in Patna that if UP police will
approach him, he will provide full cooperation to them. "Bihar police will help Uttar Pradesh police to control crime," he said.

With UP's new chief minister Akhilesh Yadav eyeing to focus on crime control, Bihar's speedy trial concept may be of great help.

Abhyanand admitted that speedy trial played important role to control crime in Bihar, which was earlier known as lawless state.

Till date over 60,000 criminals, including politicians, have been convicted in the last five-a-half years. The police records said that all were convicted by fast track courts across the state.

"The convictions were made possible with speedy trials conducted in almost all pending criminal cases by different courts, including fast track courts," Abhyanand said.

He said the high rate of convictions has led to a decline in the crime rate in the state and has been made possible by fast track courts that were set up in January 2006.

When Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal-United became chief minister on November 24, 2005, he promised to make the state crime-free within three months. He later admitted it would not have been possible without the special courts.

Additional Director General of Police Ravinder Kumar said the conviction of criminals in such a short span of time is a big achievement and a model for others to follow. Princeton University, USA, has included the Bihar government's innovative step to improve law and order in its list of case studies and posted it on its official website.

He said the speedy trial of criminals initiated by the state government has been lauded by people in the state as well as outside India.

Nitish Kumar had repeatedly told the people that criminals now fear disturbing law and order because of his "political determination to prosecute them through speedy trials".

He said a high rate of convictions through speedy trials has instilled a sense of fear in the minds of criminals and anti-social elements.