Chennai, March 20: Tamil Nadu has bettered its own record in fast-track justice, with the conviction of an accused within 29 days of a murder in Chennai.

Munusamy, a 40-year-old cobbler, was stabbed to death on a pavement here on February 7 allegedly by Jayaraman, a casual labourer. A love triangle was blamed for the murder ? Munusamy had got into a relationship with Jayaraman?s lover, Indira.

On March 8, the additional sessions judge held the accused guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Chief minister Jayalalithaa told the Assembly on Tuesday that it took only ?29 days since police registered the murder case?.

The police had filed the chargesheet within 15 days of registering the FIR, she added. ?This conviction in just 29 days in a murder case is a world record.?

Last year, a fast-track court in Chennai had sentenced an accused in a murder case within 44 days, setting a national record, Jayalalithaa recalled.

Replying to a two-day debate on demands for grants for the home, police and fire services departments in her charge, the chief minister refuted the Opposition?s claim that the police were getting a lion?s share of the budgetary outlays.

The allocation for the police force had been stepped up over the years only to the extent required to ensure peace and stability, she argued.

Jayalalithaa pointed out that her government had been taking concrete steps to check crime against women. The overall crime rate against women had dropped 2.4 per cent in 2004, as compared to the previous year, she said.

The number of cases related to ?cruelty by husband and his relatives? had dropped from 1,494 in 2003 to 1,437 in 2004. Cases of molestation had slid to 1,861 in 2004 from 2,048 in 2003. But the number of dowry deaths had remained about the same, with 222 deaths reported in 2003, against 225 in 2004.

The number of cases of rape (including attempt to rape) had, however, gone up by 13 per cent to 618 in 2004. Kidnapping of women had shot up by 8 per cent to 692. Cases of sexual harassment had also increased to 1,081 in 2004, against 924 in 2003.

Jayalalithaa claimed that more cases were being registered because of ?greater awareness? of women?s rights. The number of sexual harassment cases had gone up, she said, as police personnel were deployed at strategic points ? colleges, schools, cinema theatres and bus stops.

In a pre-election year, Jayalalithaa announced fresh police recruitments. Two additional battalions, each comprising nearly 1,000 personnel, would be added to the force.