NCRB data 2017: Highest number of FIRs lodged in Uttar Pradesh; increase in crimes against women across country

According to the latest data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Uttar Pradesh was the state that recorded the most FIRs (over three lakh) in 2017. The number of cognisable crimes registered across the country increased by 3.6 percent between 2016 and 2017. Crimes against women also showed an increasing trend with 3,59,849 cases registered across the country in 2017, as against 3,38,954 in 2016.

According to the data released on Monday, overall 30,62,579 cases were registered across the country in 2017, up from 29,75,711 in 2016 and 29,49,400 in 2015.

Representational image. News18

With registration of over three lakh FIRs, Uttar Pradesh topped the crime list in the country, followed by Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi. Uttar Pradesh, also the most populous state, registered 3,10,084 cases during the year and had the highest share of 10.1 percent in the country, the report stated. The data showed an upward trend for straight third year in the state, which had recorded 2,82,171 cases in 2016 and 2,41,920 in 2015.

Maharashtra, which accounted for 9.4 percent of crime in the country, registered 2,88,879 FIRs in 2017, 2,61,714 in 2016 and 2,75,414 in 2015, according to the NCRB. Madhya Pradesh registered 2,69,512 FIRs in 2017 and accounted for 8.8 percent overall cases. It had lodged 2,68,614 cases in 2015 and 2,64,418 in 2016, the data showed.

The NCRB said certain states like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have provided citizen-friendly service of online registration of FIR under certain category of offences like 'vehicle theft' and 'other thefts'.

"As this may have increased the crime reporting under such heads in these states, they become statistically non-comparable with other states not having such online registration facility," it added.

Fourth on the list was Kerala which registered 2,35,846 cases, while Delhi followed it closely with 2,32,066 cases, it stated.

The data which was released after a delay of a year said that over 50 lakh cases of cognisable crimes were registered across the country in 2017, showing  an increase of 3.6 percent from 2016 when 48 lakh FIRs were lodged.

Murder cases registered fell from from 30,450 in 2016 to 28,653 in 2017, showing a decline of 5.9 percent in 2017, said the report. 'Disputes' (7,898 cases) were the motive in the maximum number of murder cases, followed by 'personal vendetta or enmity' (4,660) and 'gain' (2,103), it stated.

Cases of kidnapping and abduction saw a nine percent increase in 2017, with 95,893 cases registered against 88,008 in 2016. "A total of 1,00,555 (23,814 male and 76,741 female) victims were reported kidnapped or abducted, out of which 56,622 (14,296 male and 42,326 female) victims were children and 43,933 (9,518 male and 34,415 female) victims were adults during 2017," the data stated.

Crimes against women

The report also showed that cases of crime against women registered across the country continued the upward trend for the three consecutive years. In 2015, 3,29,243 cases of crimes against women were registered and 3,38,954 cases were registered in 2016 while in 2017, 3,59,849 cases registered. The cases categorised as crimes against women include murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty against women and kidnapping, etc.

According to the NCRB data for 2017, which was released after a delay of more than a year, the maximum cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh (56,011) — the country's most populated state. Maharashtra recorded the second-highest number of crimes against women with 31,979 cases, followed by 30,992 in West Bengal, 29,778 in Madhya Pradesh, 25,993 in Rajasthan and 23,082 in Assam, the data said.

Delhi, however, saw a decline in crimes against women for the third straight year. As many as 13,076 FIRs were registered in 2017, down from 15,310 in 2016 and 17,222 in 2015, the NCRB report said. Crime rate is offences registered per one lakh people.

Eight states — Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura — registered crimes against women only in three digits, with not even one percent contribution to the all-India figures, according to the NCRB data.

Among Union Territories, Chandigarh registered 453 cases, followed by 132 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 147 in Puducherry, 26 in Daman and Diu, 20 in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and only six in Lakshadweep, the data stated.

The NCRB, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country. The IPC is the official criminal code of the country and covers all substantive aspects of criminal law.

With inputs from PTI