UP to strengthen witness protection

To begin with, the police will use social media to reach out to witnesses and assure them of their safety

The Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh will now strengthen its witness protection programme in order to prevent witnesses from turning hostile.

A senior official in the police department said that information about witness protection programmes in the US were being collection and these would be suitably modified for implementation in the state.

To begin with, the police department will use the social media to reach out to witnesses and assure them of their safety from the accused persons.

Majority of the cases allow easy bail for the accused because the witnesses turn hostile in court.

According to DG prosecution Surya Kumar Shukla, “To improve conviction rate in criminal cases in UP, the department will ensure witnesses do not turn hostile. Prosecution officials will alert the district police chief on threats to witnesses and ensure that steps are taken to provide adequate security to the witness in court. Those who threaten the witness- es will also be taken to task.” Police officials admit that witnesses are the weakest link and most vulnerable to threats in Uttar Pradesh.

The recent deaths of two witnesses in the Asaram case have only added to the fear.

“First, cases drag on for years and even the police lose interest in protecting the witness. There have been innumerable instances where high profile criminal cases have pulled on for years and witnesses have been eliminated, allowing he accused to walk free,” the official said.

A witness, who turned hostile in a high- profile murder case, spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity and said, “I had testified against this politician in a murder case that took place more than a decade ago. My parents died a few months later in a road accident but I know that the ‘ accident’ was actually a pre- planned murder.”