Jharsuguda records highest conviction rate of 89.5% among districts: CM tells assembly

Bhubaneswar: Jharsuguda recorded the highest conviction rate in Odisha at 89.5% in 2025, while Kendrapada ranked lowest with just 3.1%, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the assembly on Monday.“Of the 2,036 cases where trial concluded last year in Jharsuguda, 1,823 ended in conviction. Districts with conviction rates above 50% included Angul (68%), CID-CB (66.7%), Berhampur (65.6%), Ganjam (57.2%) and Sambalpur (54%),” Majhi said in a written reply to Congress MLA Rama Chandra Kadam.Data showed that elite Bhubaneswar police secured a 39.9% conviction rate, ranking 12th in the state, while Cuttack city police fared slightly better at 40.3%.

Several districts, including Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Jajpur and Nayagarh, struggled to reach double digits, according to statistics.DGP Y B Khurania attributed the rise in conviction rates to reforms such as stricter supervision of investigations, greater reliance on forensic and scientific evidence under the new criminal laws, improved infrastructure, and the establishment of fast-track courts.

IGP (northern range) Himanshu Lal credited Jharsuguda’s performance to thorough investigations, meticulous evidence collection, and close monitoring by senior officers. “Like Jharsuguda, other districts under the northern range, including Sambalpur and Balangir too achieved remarkable conviction rate,” Lal said, highlighting measures like regular monitoring by top police leadership, including DGP and range IGP, direct supervision by district SPs, strengthening of prosecution wings, appointment of trial monitoring officers at each police station, and deployment of additional SP-rank officers to track trials.Police officials noted that the new criminal laws—the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA)—have imposed strict timelines on police, prosecution, and judiciary, including deadlines for completing investigations within 90 days, filing chargesheets, framing charges, and delivering judgments.At the closing session of the two-day collectors and SPs conference on Nov 19, 2025, Majhi directed Odisha police to establish a dedicated “investigation and prosecution” wing to further boost conviction rates and urged the force to act firmly against criminals without yielding to external pressure.