The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recently released its comprehensive data for 2022, shedding light on the surge in crime against women, children, Schedule Caste and Tribes (SC/ST) as well as cyber crimes across the country.
A total of 65,893 cybercrime cases were registered in 2022, marking a substantial 24.4 per cent increase from the previous year’s 52,974 cases.
The crime rate in this category rose from 3.9 in 2021 to 4.8 in 2022. Delving deeper into the cybercrime statistics, a staggering 64.8 per cent of the cases were motivated by fraud, accounting for 42,710 instances.
Extortion followed at 5.5 per cent (3,648 cases), and sexual exploitation constituted 5.2 per cent (3,434 cases).
This alarming increase in cybercrimes highlights the pressing need for enhanced cybersecurity measures and public awareness.
Rise in crime against women
In tandem with the rise in cybercrimes, crimes against women also witnessed an uptick in 2022. A total of 4,45,256 cases were registered, indicating a 4.0 per cent increase from the previous year’s 4,28,278 cases.
The majority of these cases, according to the NCRB data, were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.4 per cent), followed by ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (19.2 per cent), ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (18.7 per cent), and ‘Rape’ (7.1 per cent).
The crime rate per lakh women population increased from 64.5 in 2021 to 66.4 in 2022, emphasising the urgency of addressing gender-based violence.
2.6% decline in murder cases
Moving beyond gender-specific crimes, the report outlines the state of murder cases in 2022. While there was a marginal decline of 2.6 per cent from 29,272 cases in 2021 to 28,522 cases in 2022, the motives behind these crimes are noteworthy.
“Disputes emerged as the primary motivator in the highest number of murder cases (9,962 cases), followed by ‘Personal vendetta or enmity’ (3,761 cases) and ‘Gain’ (1,884 cases),” the report stated.
The metropolitan cities painted a similar picture, with a 3.9 per cent increase in murder cases from 1,955 in 2021 to 2,031 in 2022.
The crime rate also saw a rise from 1.7 in 2021 to 1.8 in 2022. The 19 Metropolitan Cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune and Surat.
Kidnappings rise by 5.8%
According to NCRB data, overall kidnapping and abduction cases across the country saw a 5.8 per cent increase, totaling 1,07,588 cases in 2022. Disturbingly, 76,069 victims were children, emphasising the vulnerability of the younger population.
Out of the total victims, 1,17,083 were recovered, with 974 found dead.
Crimes affecting the human body constituted 32.5 per cent of total IPC crimes in 2022.
‘Hurt’ cases accounted for the majority at 54.2 per cent, followed by cases of ‘Causing death by negligence’ (13.7 per cent) and ‘Kidnapping & Abduction’ (9.3 per cent).
The reported cases increased by 5.3 per cent from 11,00,425 in 2021 to 11,58,815 in 2022, with the crime rate rising from 80.5 to 84.0.
“Offences against public peace witnessed a decline of 10.0 per cent in 2022, with rioting constituting 66.2 per cent of the total cases (37,816 cases),” the data stated.
Crime against children, elderly on rise
A disturbing rise was observed in crimes against children, with 1,62,449 cases reported, marking an 8.7 per cent increase from 2021.
“Kidnapping and abduction accounted for 45.7 per cent of these cases, while the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012, contributed 39.7 per cent. The crime rate per lakh children population increased from 33.6 in 2021 to 36.6 in 2022,” stated the report.
Juvenile crimes saw a 2.0 per cent decline, with 30,555 cases reported in 2022. The majority of juveniles (78.6 per cent) in conflict with the law fell in the age group of 16 to 18 years.
“Crimes against senior citizens rose by 9.3 per cent, totaling 28,545 cases. ‘Simple Hurt’ accounted for the highest number of cases (27.3 per cent), followed by ‘Theft’ (13.8 per cent) and ‘Forgery, Cheating and Fraud’ (11.2 per cent),” the report states.
Financial crime
“Economic offences surged by 11.1 per cent, with forgery, cheating, and fraud accounting for the majority at 1,70,901 cases. The Arms Act reported an increase from 74,482 cases in 2021 to 80,118 cases in 2022, resulting in the seizure of 1,04,390 arms,” the report stated.
However, as per reports, explosives-related crimes saw a decrease, with 88,987 kgs seized in 2022, primarily from extremists, insurgents, terrorists (510 kgs), and other criminals, including smugglers (88,477 kgs).
A total of 2,79,986 explosive devices were recovered, marking a significant reduction from 8,78,293 devices in 2021. –IANS