Police dept data red flags poor conviction rate in Beed district

The district's law and order situation came under scrutiny after the gruesome murder of Massajog village sarpanch on Dec 9

- Shrinivas Deshpande

PUNE: Beed district continues to grapple with one of the lowest conviction rates in Maharashtra, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the judicial and law enforcement systems in the region.

The district's law and order situation recently came under scrutiny after the gruesome murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh on December 9, which led to widespread protests and road blockades. Although the accused were eventually arrested, the incident has renewed questions about the law and order situation.

As per the police department data compiled by Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in 2022, Beed registered a conviction rate of 11.79%, ranking it as the third worst-performing district in Maharashtra.

This represents a steady decline from 2018, when the district's conviction rate stood at 36.09%. The downward trend has persisted, with Beed ranking last in conviction rates in 2021 (21.13%), second-last in 2020 (21.01%), and fourth from last in 2019 (25.40%).

Beed's performance is particularly concerning when compared to Maharashtra's top-performing districts. In 2022, Parbhani (9.61%) and Nashik (11.76%) joined Beed (11.79%) among the lowest-ranked districts, while Mumbai Railways (94.10%), Raigad (78.04%), and Amravati Rural (74.59%) led the state in conviction rates.