Jammu Kashmir accounts for nearly 97 per cent of militancy cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) cases reported in India, Indian Express reported, quoting data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
On average, 20-25 such cases filed under UAPA are taken up in courts in Jammu Kashmir daily. The conviction rate remains very low, as per the report.
The Jammu Kashmir Police is currently investigating 1,335 UAPA cases, of which 1,214 are in Kashmir. Over the last year, the SIA has taken up 80 cases. Of the 884 UAPA cases under trial in J-K, the SIA is handling 24.
There are 249 cases under trial in north Kashmir (Baramulla, Handwara, Kupwara, Bandipora, and Sopore); 223 in south Kashmir (Pulwama, Awantipora, Anantnag, Shopian, and Kulgam); and 317 in central Kashmir (Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal).
With a large backlog of cases at the district level, the capacity-building exercise began about five months ago with the formation of SIUs. The 14-member teams, led by district superintendents of police (SPs) and tasked with “effective investigation and case building” for UAPA cases, were established first in the five police districts of South Kashmir, then Central Kashmir, and finally North Kashmir. Due to the volume of cases, the Srinagar district has two of these specialized units, the report added.
According to a top official who talked to The Indian Express, the SIUs will improve inquiry. “Sometimes, because to procedural faults, cases would languish under trial for a very long time, or the accused would be granted bail, and there would be minimal follow-up on cases.” This puts a lot of strain on both prisoners and courts,” he explained.
Another district SP stated that in Kashmir, where the situation on the ground is “more essential than follow-up in court,” Thana-level staff are limited in their ability to focus on investigations due to time constraints. “The SIU will only conduct investigations and assist in obtaining convictions,” he stated. He also stated that arrests will be limited to “accused with substantial evidence that can be produced in court.”
Officials further stated that there are only three special courts in Srinagar, Anantnag, and Baramulla that hear an average of 25 cases per day, which include cases other than UAPA. As a result, there is a backlog of cases. “Many times, the accused would have died while the case would have continued.” Other times, the witness grows tired of appearing in court and the case falls off the radar. As a result, speedy trials are also required,” an official stated.
To address this, the State Investigation Agency (SIA), modelled after the National Investigation Agency (NIA), was established last year as part of a broader counter-terror strategy, and Special Investigation Units (SIUs) have recently been established in each police district.
Officials stated that they obtained ten UAPA convictions in the last year. While numbers for past years were not available, officials indicated it was slightly higher this time.