Incidents of crime in India increased by 1.3 percent in 2018 as compared to 2017, with the registration of 50 lakh cognisable crimes, revealed the much-awaited 2018 edition of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) – ‘Crime in India.’
The Quint, upon delineating the report into several categories, extrapolated that Delhi topped the crime chart, with over two lakh incidents having been reported in the national capital in 2018.
In total, 50,74,634 cognisable crimes, comprising 31,32,954 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 19,41,680 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes, were registered in 2018, up from 50,07,044 in 2017, as per the report.
90 Rape Cases Reported Every Day
On average, 80 murders, 289 kidnappings and 91 rapes were reported on a daily basis across the country in 2018. According to the report, Madhya Pradesh accounted for a little over 16 percent of India’s total 33,356 rape cases that were registered in 2018.
However, the report also stated that the number of rape cases registered in 2018 is smaller as compared to 2017 when 5,562 cases were reported in the state.
Further, the number of incidents of sexual harassment at shelter homes increased by 30 percent in 2018, as reports of sexual abuse from a Muzaffarpur shelter home shocked the nation.
Over 10,300 Farmers Killed Themselves
The figure is lower than the one in 2016 – 11,379, as per the report. Overall, a total of 1,34,5156 suicides were reported in the country in 2018, an increase of 3.6 percent as compared to 2017, when 1,29,887 people killed themselves.
The majority of suicides were reported from Maharashtra (17,972) followed by Tamil Nadu (13,896) and West Bengal (13,255), among others.
Kidnapping, Murder Continue to Rise
‘Disputes’ (9,623 cases) were motives behind most of murder cases during 2018, followed by ‘personal vendetta or enmity’ (3,875 cases) and ‘gain’ (2,995 cases), the data stated.
Meanwhile, the highest number of incidents of crimes against children was reported in Uttar Pradesh, 19,936, while the state with the least number of such cases was Nagaland at 70.
It is noteworthy that there is no specific mention of ‘lynching’ in the report.
Sedition Cases Double From 2016
Sedition cases accounted for 50 percent of all cases under the category ‘offences against the state’ in 2018.
However, the spike in sedition cases comes at a time when cases lodged under the same category showed a decline in 2016.
The NCRB, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws in the country.
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