Burgeoning figures result of truthful registration of cases, claims Bassi
A mind-boggling 1,47,230 cases under all sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were reported in 2014 in the National Capital as compared to 73,902 in 2013, an increase of 99.22 per cent. According to Delhi Police annual report data, the biggest rise of 458.77 per cent was registered in robberies which rose from 1,106 in 2013 to 6,180 in 2014. What is worrying Delhi Police is the sharp rise in street crime as it has registered an unprecedented 96,922 cases of street crime in 2014 as compared to 33,997 in 2013. Street crime includes robbery, snatching, burglary and other cases.
“No conscientious police officer can ignore it. Unless an FIR is registered, the process of providing justice to the victim cannot begin,” Delhi Police Commissioner Bassi said. He pointed out that enhanced registration, a result of the efforts made by the police top brass to encourage truthful registration, has led to the solving of 5,784 heinous crimes as against 3,242 such cases during the previous year. This increase shows many more criminals have been brought to book. A total of 43,431 cases were solved as compared to 36,134 cases during the previous year, he said.
Addressing the Delhi Police’s annual Press conference on Friday, Bassi said: “The sudden increase is because every case is being filed and police have become more sensitive towards the issue. Registration of cases will continue in 2015. Our men sincerely investigated every case and tried to solve it at the earliest.”
The Police Commissioner said since the true extent of crime in various parts of the city is now known, suitable strategies for prevention and detection of crime can be devised. He, however, cautioned his colleagues that “truthful registration” was not a favour to the victims. Bassi, who took over from Neeraj Kumar in August 2013, said the rise in cases was the result of his batting for “truthful registration” of crime.
Police officials, however, accept that in most of these street crimes, complainants were earlier turned away from police stations to keep the crime graph down. “last year, I urged that we must stamp out burking from our functioning as it is one of the major causes of public dissatisfaction. I now have no hesitation in placing on record that reluctance to register cognizable crime has almost disappeared among Delhi Police officers,” Bassi told reporters.
A look at the crime statistics reveals that there has been a substantial increase in cases under all heads. At least 6,180 cases of robberies were reported in 2014, while the number was 1,106 in 2013. The number of snatchings and dacoity cases touched 6,944 and 78 respectively in 2014, from 3,316 and 31 in 2013. It was followed by house theft and burglary which recorded a hike of 327 and 289 per cent respectively. The number of cases of snatching also grew by almost 100 per cent from 3,316 in 2013 to 6,944 in 2014. There were 12,276 house theft cases in 2014, an increase of 327 per cent from the 2,870 cases in 2013.
The number of cases registered in other heinous crimes such as murders increased from 486 to 561 in 2014. There were 2,069 cases of crime related to women such as rape in 2014, while this number was 1,571 in 2013. At least 4,179 molestation cases were reported in 2014 as compared to 3,345 in 2013. Kidnapping for ransom stood at 37 in 2014, up from 28 in 2013.
“The Capital also witnessed a 59.94 per cent increase in the number of vehicle thefts in 2014. While it was 13,895 in 2013 it touched 22,223 in 2014. Besides, 39,570 and 10,302 other thefts were recorded in 2014 and 2013 respectively,” the Delhi Police annual report stated.