New Delhi: The registration of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) registered a sharp fall of 13.9 per cent last year relative to 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released Monday.
A total of 3,66,3360 crimes were registered under IPC in 2021 against 42,54,356 in 2020.
Former BSF DG Prakash Singh said one of the reasons behind this fall could be unregistered cases.
“One has to look at the states — which ones have shown the highest declines and what is the general impression about that state; if they are registering cases or showing decline by not registering cases. Generally, the overall numbers increase and show an accelerating trend,” Singh told ThePrint.
“One has to scrutinise the figures carefully, this doesn’t normally happen. If there is a decline, it can be explained either under a particular head of crime or a particular state’s figures that’s impacting the overall figure,” he added.
Also read: Maharashtra leads states in IPC crimes, 2021, tailed by UP; Delhi top city, says NCRB
Rise in crimes against women
Crimes against women, meanwhile, witnessed a significant rise of 15.3 per cent last year against 2020. With 56,083 registered cases, Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states followed by Rajasthan with 40,738.
A total of 31,677 incidents of rape were reported in 2021, with the maximum number of cases from Rajasthan (6,337), followed by Madhya Pradesh (2,947) and Uttar Pradesh (2,845).
The maximum spike was reported under the ‘cruelty by husband or his relatives’ category (31.8 per cent), followed by ‘assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’ (20.8 per cent), ‘kidnapping & abduction of women’ (17.6 per cent) and ‘rape’ (7.4 per cent).
Uttar Pradesh again topped the list of offences under ‘murder with rape/gangrape’ category with 48 registered cases, followed by Assam at 46.
With 2,222 cases, Uttar Pradesh also led in dowry deaths, followed by Bihar 1,000 and Madhya Pradesh 522. West Bengal, meanwhile, recorded the maximum acid attack cases (30), followed by Uttar Pradesh (18). There were a total of 102 acid attack cases registered in India last year.
A total 53,874 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). With 1,454 cases, Delhi topped among the Union Territories. Among states, Uttar Pradesh came first with 7,129 cases, followed by Maharashtra 6,200 and Madhya Pradesh 6,070.
Crimes against ST/SC
As many as 50,900 cases of crimes against Scheduled Castes (SC) were registered in 2021 against 50,291 in 2020 and 45,961 in 2019.
Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number (13,146), followed by Rajasthan (7,524), Madhya Pradesh (7,214) and Bihar (5,824).
A total of 673 cases were registered for sexual harrassment of SC women, with Uttar Pradesh again reporting the highest (176), followed by Maharashtra (117).
While 1,285 cases of rape of children (Scheduled Caste) were registered, the highest was recorded in Madhya Pradesh (189), followed by Maharashtra (163). Uttar Pradesh was third with 145 cases.
Crimes registered against Scheduled Tribes also increased from 8,272 in 2020 to 8,802 in 2021. Madhya Pradesh topped the list with 2,627 cases, followed by Rajasthan with 2,121. As many as 512 cases of rape of ST children were registered in 2021, with Madhya Pradesh again recording the highest number of offences (154). In sexual harrassment too, it was at the top with 189 cases.
Offences against state
Crimes registered under the ‘offences against state’ category saw an overall drop for the third consecutive year. A total of 5,164 cases were registered in 2021, against 5,613 in 2020 and 7,656 in 2019.
Uttar Pradesh saw the highest number of these cases at 1,862, followed by 327 in Assam and 313 in Jammu and Kashmir.
‘Offences against state’ includes cases booked under sedition, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Official Secrets Act, damage to public property, and imputation, assertions prejudicial to national integration.
Of the total registered cases, 4,089 were under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, followed by 814 under UAPA. While Jammu and Kashmir recorded the highest number of cases under the UAPA (289) among Union Territories, Manipur led among states (157).
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