There has been a systematic burking of crime in the national Capital with successive Delhi Police Commissioners keeping a tight control over the crime figures.
A study of the total cases of crime registered in Delhi from 1998 till December 15, 2013 presents an interesting study. Delhi had registered a total number of 64,882 cases under various Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) while the crime figures of Delhi stood at 51,479 cases till December 15, 2012 while the total on December 15, 2013 was at 73,958 cases under heinous and non-heinous heads signalling a sizeable increase by 43.67 per cent.
Delhi has changed demographically since 1998 as its population has witnessed an increase by several lakhs but Delhi Police chiefs did not allow the crime figures to go up as that would have reflected upon their professional and leadership qualities.
Delhi Police data accessed by The Pioneer presents an interesting study. It was the tenure of suave VN Singh, the then Delhi Police Commissioner who ordered the free and fair registration of the reported cases.
VN Singh’s drive saw Delhi Police registering 64,882 cases under various Sections of IPC. He paid a price for being honest and was replaced by Ajai Raj Sharma, a UP cadre
IPS officer.
Delhi Police figures in 1999 stood at 58,701 and thus, recording a drop by 9.52 per cent. It further dipped to 56,249 in 2000 and it went down even further up to 54,384 cases in the year 2001. RS Gupta took over from Ajai Raj Sharma and the crime figures dipped as Delhi Police recorded a total of 49,137 cases and the same trend continued in 2003 as Delhi Police recorded an all time low of 47,404 cases.
The figure jumped to 53,623 in 2004 after Dr KK Paul took over the reins of Delhi Police. A hard task master Paul laid emphasis on ‘Citizens First’ motto and launched a crackdown on proclaimed offenders and criminal gangs. Paul allowed the free registration of cases and Delhi recorded an increase of 13.11 per cent in the total crime graph and it continued in the year 2005, 2006 and 2007 as Delhi Police figures stood at 56,065, 57,963 and 56,065 respectively.
It again dipped to 49,350 under the leadership of YS Dadwal in 2008 by 11.98 per cent. The crime graph in 2009 was at 50,251. BK Gupta took over from Dadwal and registration of crime increased by 2.07 per cent in 2010 and 4.02 per cent in 2011. Neeraj Kumar took over from Gupta on July 1, 2012 and crime graph jumped up to 54,287. Bassi, the present Delhi Police Commissioner, took over from Kumar on August 1, 2013 and the crime figure of Delhi witnessed an unprecedented rise in the overall crime graph.
According to the data, a total of 73,958 cases were registered till December 15, 2013. A senior Delhi Police officer said, “All the cases registered by the police are being analysed and follow up action is being taken. The increase in the overall crime figure is because of the policy adopted by the Delhi Police Chief. We want around 2,000 PCR vans and equal number of motorcycles for mobile patrolling and more logistic, including manpower to curb street crime in the Capital,” he said.