Crime in India up 7.2% in 2023; thefts, traffic violations on rise

New Delhi [India], September 30 (ANI): India witnessed a sharp rise in criminal activity in 2023, with a total of 62,41,569 cognizable cases registered during the year, reflecting a 7.2 per cent increase over 2022, as per the latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The figure includes 37,63,102 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 24,78,467 under Special and Local Laws (SLL), compared to 58,24,946 cases in 2022. It shows an increase of 4,16,623 (7.2 per cent) in registration of cases over 2022 (58,24,946 cases).
The report, titled 'Crime in India - 2023', noted that the crime rate per lakh population rose from 422.2 in 2022 to 448.3 in 2023. While IPC crimes accounted for 60.3 per cent of total cases, the remaining 39.7 per cent fell under SLL. The data shows a 5.7 per cent rise in IPC cases and a 9.5 per cent surge in SLL cases.
A sharp rise was noted in obstruction on public way cases (Section 283 IPC), which jumped from 93,548 cases in 2022 to 1,51,469 in 2023, according to the figure, adding, "The reported cases of theft also increased, reaching 6,89,580 in 2023 compared to 6,52,731 the previous year."
Under SLL, it states that the most significant surge came from Motor Vehicle Act violations, nearly doubling from 94,450 cases in 2022 to 1,91,828 in 2023, an increase of 97,378 cases.
On the investigation front, police dealt with 53,61,518 IPC cases in 2023, including those pending from previous years and reopened matters. Of these, 37,85,839 cases were disposed of, with 27,53,235 charge-sheeted, reflecting a charge-sheeting rate of 72.7 per cent.
The statistics in the report show worrying trends in crimes against the human body, women, children and vulnerable groups in 2023, even as some categories like murder and offences against senior citizens showed a marginal decline.
A total of 11.85 lakh cases of offences affecting the human body were reported last year, forming 31.5 per cent of all IPC crimes. Among these, hurt cases topped the list with 6.36 lakh incidents (53.7 per cent), followed by deaths caused by negligence (1.65 lakh, 14 per cent) and kidnapping and abduction (1.13 lakh, 9.6 per cent). These offences saw a 2.3 per cent rise compared to 2022, with the crime rate increasing from 84.0 to 85.2 per lakh population.
Murder cases, however, fell slightly by 2.8 per cent, with 27,721 cases in 2023 against 28,522 the previous year. Disputes remained the leading motive (9,209 cases), trailed by personal vendetta (3,458) and gain (1,890).
Kidnapping and abduction cases rose 5.6 per cent, touching 1.13 lakh cases in 2023. Authorities reported 1.16 lakh victims, a majority being children (82,106 victims, 70.5 per cent). Encouragingly, police recovered 1.40 lakh persons, with most found alive.
Cases of public tranquillity violations also increased, with 58,247 incidents recorded -- mainly rioting (39,260 cases), which accounted for 67.4 per cent of such offences.
Crimes against women increased marginally by 0.7 per cent, with 4.48 lakh cases reported in 2023. The leading offences were cruelty by husband or relatives (1.33 lakh cases, 29.8 per cent), followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (88,605 cases, 19.8 per cent), and assault with intent to outrage modesty (83,891 cases, 18.7 per cent). The crime rate for women, however, remained largely unchanged at 66.2 per lakh population.
Crimes against children showed a more pronounced increase of 9.2 per cent, with 1.77 lakh cases in 2023. Nearly half of these involved kidnapping and abduction (79,884 cases, 45 per cent), while POCSO Act offences (67,694 cases, 38.2 per cent ) also formed a significant share.
For senior citizens, reported crimes dipped by 2.3 per cent to 27,886 cases, with simple hurt (7,608 cases, 27.3 per cent), theft (4,130, 14.8 per cent), and fraud (3,473, 12.5 per cent) being the most common offences.
One of the steepest rises was seen in cybercrime, where cases surged by 31.2 per cent to 86,420 in 2023, compared to 65,893 the year before. Fraud dominated with nearly 70 per cent of cases (59,526), while sexual exploitation (4,199) and extortion (3,326) followed. The cybercrime rate jumped from 4.8 to 6.2 per lakh population.
Crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) spiked by 28.8 per cent, reaching 12,960 cases, with simple hurt (21.3 per cent), riots (13.2 per cent) and rape (9.2 per cent) topping the list. Meanwhile, cases against Scheduled Castes (SCs) remained almost unchanged, with 57,789 cases in 2023, compared to 57,582 the previous year. Simple hurt (31.9 per cent), criminal intimidation (7.8 per cent) and offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (7.5 per cent) were the leading crime heads. (ANI)