This is straight from Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Burglars, robbers, snatchers and dacoits have deprived Delhiites of a whopping Rs36,000 crore —ironically it is equal to Delhi’s annual Budget of Rs36,766 crore — in this year.
As per the data available with the Delhi Police, residents of the national Capital lost over Rs36,000 crore in the form of cash, jewellery and other expensive items to criminals this year till November 30. But the recovery has been a meager Rs2,800 crore. Moreover, the Rs36,000 crore figures are the only official ones. This excludes petty thefts which usually go unreported.
According to the Delhi Police crime statistics, cash and goods worth Rs34,594 crore were stolen in 2013, while it was Rs21,211 crore in 2012. In 2011, goods worth Rs24,119 crore were stolen, while 2010 witnessed burglaries worth Rs20,566 crore. This year, the figure is bound to cross Rs36,000 crore, claim the police. The reason: the crime rates have doubled in 2014. By November-end, 75 cases of dacoity, 5,876 robberies, 6,599 snatchings, 9,097 burglaries, 11,856 cases of theft in house, 21,112 incidents of auto theft, and 6,599 other thefts were reported in the city.
Of the goods worth Rs34,594 crore stolen in 2013, vehicles worth Rs16,086.2 crore and jewellery worth Rs5,535.04 crore were lost. Rs6,572.86 was stolen in cash, while phones and laptops worth Rs1,729.7 crore and other valuables, including TV sets, clothes, iron rods, copper wire and household items worth Rs4,670.19 crore were stolen.
Delhi is the most urbanised city with the highest per capita income in the country. The per capita annual income of Delhiites, without factoring inflation, was at Rs2,19,979 during 2013.
However, showing a poor track record of recovery, the police have so far managed to recover goods worth 7 per cent (Rs2,800 crore) till November this year. Only 6.44 per cent (Rs2,229 crore) of the stolen goods were recovered in 2013 and 16.37 per cent (Rs3,472 crore) in 2012. In 2011, the police had recovered only 8.58 per cent (Rs2,070 crore) of the total stolen goods and in 2010, the haul was just 7.37 per cent (Rs1,516 crore).
Of the stolen goods worth Rs34,594 crore in 2013, 0.36 per cent (Rs124.54 crore) were taken away in dacoity, 7.36 per cent (Rs2,525.36 crore) in robbery, and 6.53 per cent (Rs2,258.98 crore) in burglary. Auto theft amounted to 46.50 per cent (Rs16,086.2 crore), criminal breach of trust 12.88 per cent (Rs4,455.70 crore) and other kinds of offences, including snatching 26.43 per cent (Rs9143.19 crore).
In 2013, 30 incidents of dacoity, 1,109 robberies, 3,319 snatchings, 2,872 burglaries, 13,900 vehicle thefts, and 10,298 incidents of other thefts took place. In the previous year, 28 incidents of dacoity, 577 robberies, 1,371 snatchings, 1,617 burglaries, 13,624 cases of vehicle theft, and 5,583 other thefts were reported.
According to the Delhi Police, robbery and dacoity take place in Dwarka, Rohini, Anand Vihar, Vasant Vihar, Malviya Nagar, Vasant Kunj, Kalkaji, Patel Nagar, and Old Delhi. On the other hand, burglary takes places in area like lodhi Colony, RK Puram, Mayur Vihar, Rajouri Garden, Pitampura, Yamuna Vihar, Preet Vihar, laxmi Nagar, Kalyanpuri, Mandawali, and Shakarpur.
Recovering cash is an uphill task for the police. On December 18, the Crime Branch solved a Rs1.5-crore sensational heist that took place in the lahori Gate area with the arrest of two people. The police managed to recover Rs32 lakh, and the hunt is on to arrest the other accused and recover the entire amount. In big robbery cases, police sometimes manage to recover the looted amount but in small cases, they rarely recover the goods or cash.
The recent murder-cum-robbery at an ATM in Kamla Nagar on November 28 has not been solved despite the Delhi Police pooling all the resources at its command. Sources in the Delhi Police say there is no clue in this case.