New Delhi: India recorded an 11 percent increase in crime committed by juveniles in 2024, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.
Additionally, there was a 5.8 percent increase in crimes against children, with 34,878 cases in 2024 compared to 31,365 cases in the previous year.
Released Wednesday, the NCRB report says that cognisable crime fell by 6 percent from 62.4 lakh cases in 2023 to 58.9 lakh in 2024, even as the crime rate per lakh of population declined from 448.3 to 418.9.
In 2024, Bihar recorded the highest number of crimes committed by juveniles with 5,037 cases. Maharashtra reported 3,779 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 3,474, and Tamil Nadu with 2,946.
India recorded 1,067 cases of rape, and 16 of attempt to rape by juveniles in 2024. Cases of assault on women with intent to outrage their modesty were at 408, with 172 cases reported of sexual harassment, and 33 cases of assault or use of criminal force on women with intent to disrobe.
“A total of 34,878 cases have been registered against juveniles during 2024, an increase of 11.2 percent over 2023 (31,365 cases). The crime rate increased from 7.1 in 2023 to 7.9 in 2024. A total of 42,633 juveniles were apprehended in 34,878 cases, out of which 34,648 juveniles were apprehended under cases of IPC & BNS and 7,985 juveniles were apprehended under cases of Special and Local Laws during 2024. Majority of juveniles in conflict with law apprehended under IPC & BNS and SLL crimes were in the age group of 16 years to 18 years (77.7 percent, or 33,129 out of 42,633) during 2024,” the report read.
It was in 2024 that the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was replaced by the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Crime against children
India recorded 1,87,702 cases of crime against children in 2024, compared to 1,77,335 cases in 2023, almost a 5.8 percent increase in a year. This figure was at 1,62,449 in 2022, the NCRB report said.
The highest number of crimes against children were reported in Maharashtra with 24,171 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 22,222 cases and Madhya Pradesh with 21,908 cases. The national capital recorded 7,662 cases of crimes against children.
“A total of 1,87,702 cases of crime against children were registered during 2024, showing an increase of 5.9 percent over 2023 (1,77,335 cases). In percentage terms, major crime heads under ‘Crime Against Children’ during 2024 were ‘Kidnapping and Abduction of Children’ (75,108 cases, or 40 percent) and ‘Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO)’ (69,191 cases, or 36.9 percent). The crime rate registered per lakh children population was 42.3 in 2024 in comparison with 39.9 in 2023,” the NCRB report said.
India recorded 784 cases of rape of children, with 275 cases registered in Uttar Pradesh and 194 in Himachal Pradesh. India recorded 263 cases of sexual harassment of girls, and 123 cases of stalking.
In terms of murder with rape, India recorded 113 cases of murder and rape of children, while murder separately stood at 1,097.
In terms of POCSO, India, recorded 69,191 cases. India also recorded 13,192 cases of kidnapping or abducting or inducing girls for compulsion to marriage, 141 cases of foeticide and 56 cases of infanticide. In procuration, 1,661 cases of girls and 12 cases of boys have been recorded. There were 70,370 cases of kidnapping and abduction in 2024.
The NCRB was established in 1986 as a national repository of crime records. It operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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