On October 21, 2019, The annual Crime in India Report 2017 was released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) after a delay of 2 years (last released in 2016). 3,59,849 cases of crime against women were reported in India. Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states with the most number of crimes against women with 56,011 cases. It was followed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal with 30,002 cases.
Key Points:
i. India registered a 6.16% rise in crimes against women in 2017 in comparison to 2016.
ii. Assam registered the highest total rate of crime against women while Lucknow emerged as the most unsafe city for women.
iii. Data segregation: Majority of cases under crimes against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives’ (27.9%) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (21.7%), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (20.5%) and ‘Rape’ (7.0%).
iv. Rioting: 58,880 incidents of rioting were reported, maximum incidents from Bihar – 11,698, followed by Uttar Pradesh – 8,990 and Maharashtra – 7,743.
v. Fake news: For the first time, data was collected on circulation of false/fake news and rumours. Under this, maximum incidents were reported from Madhya Pradesh (138), Uttar Pradesh (32) and Kerala (18).
vi. Union territories: Delhi recorded the most murder cases in 2017 at 487, followed by Chandigarh and Puducherry at 25.
vii. Rape cases: The highest number of rape incidents were reported from Madhya Pradesh with 5,562 cases (3,082 victims were minor), followed by Uttar Pradesh with 4,246 (1,560 minor victims), Rajasthan with 3,305 cases.
viii. Safe states: Nagaland recorded the lowest number of rapes in 2017 with 10 reported cases, followed by Sikkim (17) and Mizoram (25).
About NCRB:
♦ Parent organization: Ministry of Home Affairs
♦ Formed: 11 March 1986
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Motto: Empowering Indian Police with Information Technology