NCRB reports 28% rise in registration of cases; COVID violations among leading causes

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, India has witnessed a 28 per cent hike in the registration of crimes in 2020 compared to 2019. The NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) report on Wednesday, September 15, stated that mainly due to COVID-19-related violations, the crime cases registration has increased. Compared to 2019, the registration of cases under IPC has increased by 31.9 per cent in 2020 while cases under Special and Local Laws (SLL) has surged by 21.6 per cent. 

According to the report, a major increase has been observed in the cases registered under Disobedience to order duly promulgated by Public Servant (Section 188 IPC) from 29,469 to 6,12,179 in 2020. But, there has been a decrease in traditional crime registration by about 2 lakh cases. 

Crime registration in India

As per the NCRB report, for committing crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs), a total of 50,291 cases were registered. This showed that compared to 2019, an increase of 9.4 per cent was observed. The crime rate registered increased from 22.8 in 2019 to 25.0 in 2020. 

The report further read that for committing crimes against Scheduled Tribe s (STs), a total of 8,272 cases were registered, showing an increase of 9.3% compared to 2019 (7,570 cases). The crime rate registered showed an increase from 7.3 in 2019 to 7.9 in 2020. 

Under economic offences, a total of 1,45,754 cases were registered which showed a decrease of 12.0 per cent in registration compared to 2019 (1,65,693 cases). Out of three specified categories of economic offences viz. criminal breach of trust, FCF (forgery, cheating & fraud), and counterfeiting, FCF accounted for a maximum of such cases, with 1,27,724 cases, followed by criminal breach of trust (17,358 cases) and counterfeiting (672 cases) during 2020.

With respect to human trafficking, a total of 1,714 cases were registered in 2020 as compared to 2,208 cases in the year 2019, showing a decrease of 22.4 percent. Out of 4,709 trafficked victims, 2,222 were children and 2,487 were adults. While in terms of crime against children, in 2020, a total of 1,28,531 cases were registered, showing a decrease of 13.2 percent compared to 2019 (1,48,090 cases).

Crimes against women in India

According to the latest data issued by the NCRB, India has recorded nearly 77 cases of sexual assault on the other gender on a regular basis in 2020. Out of the total crimes committed against women in 2020, a total of 28,046 incidents of rape involving 28,153 victims were observed at a time when the country was witnessing the COVID outbreak and a lockdown propelled by the pandemic. 

The records maintained that overall 3,71,503 cases of crime against women were reported across the nation in 2020, taking the number down from 4,05,326 in 2019 and 3,78,236 in 2018, the NCRB which functions under the aegis of the Union Home Ministry reported.

(With ANI report)

(Image credit: REPRESENTATIVEIMAGE)