Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Muslims comprise 21% of undertrials but only 17.75% of convicts: NCRB -Zeeshan Shaikh

Muslims comprise 21% of undertrials but only 17.75% of convicts: NCRB -Zeeshan Shaikh

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Sep 23, 2013   modified Modified on Sep 23, 2013
-The Indian Express


Mumbai: Over 21 per cent of undertrials in the country in 2012 were Muslims. However, members of the community comprised only 17.75 per cent of the convicts, reveals analysis of prison data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

This suggests a large number of arrested Muslims are released by the courts.

The inverse is true of all other communities.

Hindus comprised 69.92 per cent of undertrials and 71.35 per cent of convicts. Sikhs constituted 3.97 per cent of undertrials and 4.94 per cent of convicts. The figures were 3.5 per cent and 3.99 per cent for Christians.

Sociologists said the numbers suggested bias in the police machinery against Muslims.

In 23 states, there were more Muslim undertrials than convicts. Only in Karnataka, Manipur, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, the percentage of Muslim convicts was higher than the percentage of undertrials from the community.

"There can be only two reasons for this. Either Muslims hire better lawyers who secure their release or the cases against them are weak and do not stand court scrutiny," said Vijay Raghavan, associate professor and chairperson of Centre for Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The disparity, however, is not a recent phenomenon. In 2002, Muslims made up 24.72 per cent of undertrials and only 16.65 per cent of convicts. The pattern remained the same in the past decade.

"The revelation that the number of Muslim undertrials is higher than the number of Muslim convicts shows members of the community are more vulnerable to false arrest. This strengthens the belief that communal prejudices, to some extent, exist in the police force. This needs to be carefully examined and effectively remedied," said criminal lawyer Majeed Memon.

The percentage of Muslim prisoners in the country, however, is gradually coming down. sIn 2002, Muslims made up 22.69 per cent of prisoners.

This number has now dipped to 19.94 per cent but is still high considering that Muslims make up only 13.43 per cent of the Indian population.

Inmate number up 3.27 per cent

The inmate population in the country has grown by 3.27 per cent, from 3,72,926 in 2011 to 3,85,135 in 2012.

A National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report released recently shows the number of prisoners aged above 50 has grown from 47,458 to 52,864, a massive jump of 11.39 per cent.

The number of undertrials over 50 has grown by 17 per cent, from 25,949 to 30,591.

On the other hand, the number of inmates in the 18-30 age bracket has dipped by 0.88 per cent. There were 1,64,147 young inmates in 2011 and 1,62,694 in 2012. The number of convicts over 50 increased by 5.01 per cent, from 20,979 in 2011 to 22,032 in 2012.

The number of undertrials over 50 went up 17 per cent, from 25,949 to 30,591.

Sociologists attributed the growth in the number of inmates over 50 to the increase in the number of economic crimes in the country.

"There has been a spurt in reporting of economic crime. These crimes require a degree of sophistication and experience. The increase in the number of inmates over 50 could be related to the rising number of economic crimes," said Vijay Raghavan, associate professor and chairperson of Centre for Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences.


The Indian Express, 23 September, 2013, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muslims-comprise-21--of-undertrials-but-only-17.75--of-convicts-ncrb/1172814/0


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close