Love affairs and illicit relationships led to more murders in Jharkhand than Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in year 2019, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures reveals.
As per crime figures compiled by the National agency, love affairs led to as many as 52 murders, while illicit relationships triggered 23 murders in the state last year. Left Wing Extremism (LWE), on the other hand, was the motive behind only 12 murders in Jharkhand in 2019.
Despite the presence of insurgents in 19 of 24 districts, the number of murders triggered by love affairs and illicit relationships was six-times the ones perpetrated by insurgents. The figures indicated that incidents of love affairs turning bitter and couples cheating on their partners were leading to these murders, either triggered by the urge to level scores or avenge betrayal, say police.
Jharkhand is among the worst-affected states in India in terms of LWE menace. As per figures with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), at least 19 of the 24 districts in the state were LWE-affected. Besides the CPI (Maoist), at least 17 splinter outfits were active in various districts of Jharkhand in 2019, highlights data with the state police.
Besides, as many as 35 women were murdered in Jharkhand for not obliging the dowry demands of their in-laws in 2019, the NCRB data further reveals. The motive behind 81 murders in the state was not known, while at least six murders were perpetrated due to political reasons in Jharkhand.
Superstition also led to more murders in the state than LWE insurgency. As per the NCRB data, as many as 15 women were killed in Jharkhand on charges of practicing witchcraft in year 2019. Jharkhand had topped in witch-hunting cases for five consecutive years from 2011 to 2016. However, as per the latest NCRB data, Chhattisgarh reported the highest number of murders with the motive of witchcraft in 2019. While 22 women were killed in Chhattisgarh on charges of witchcraft, 16 such murders were perpetrated in Madhya Pradesh and 15 in Bihar. Odisha reported 13 such murders in the year.
No murders were perpetrated in Jharkhand over casteism, gang rivalry, class conflict and honor killing in 2019, states the NCRB data. One person was murdered in road rage, while two people were killed by psychopaths in the state.