A worrisome situation

The sharp rise in the menace of fake currency notes and various crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL) demands a fresh approach in tackling them effectively. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2017 gives a clear indication that the menace of the fake currency notes continued even after demonetisation and the fact that issuance of new notes was claimed to be too difficult to counterfeit, while the overall rate of crime situation deteriorated.

It is a matter of great concern that new notes were issued in November 2016, supposedly to fight terror financing through counterfeit notes, however, the year 2017 witnessed crores of fake notes under circulation, out of which a total of 3,55,994 notes worth Rs 28,10,19,294 were seized during 2017. Moreover, Delhi and Gujarat topped the seizure list among the UTs and states respectively. It clearly indicates the failure of one of the purposes of issuing new notes.

Crime in India increased by 3.6 per cent in 2017 as against 3 per cent in 2014, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). It's a matter of great concern that Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes have registered a sharp increase from 2.4 per cent to 4.8 per cent during this period. Crimes under IPC also registered a sharp rise from 0.9 per cent in 2015-16 to 2.9 per cent in 2017.

Offences affecting the human body are also on the increase as a percentage of the total IPC crimes which rose to 32.3 per cent in 2017 as against 30.1 per cent in 2016. However, murder registered a decline of 5.9 per cent. Most of the murders were the result of property disputes or financial greed. Most murders were private in nature.

Abduction and kidnapping have emerged as one of the most problematic areas concerning law and order situation. There was an increase of over 9 per cent throughout last year. 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 adult. Out of the total kidnapped or abducted persons, 1,992 were found dead.

Majority of cases under crimes against women out of total IPC crimes against women were registered under 'Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives' – 33.2 per cent as against 32.6 per cent previous year. 'Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty' has also increased from 25 per cent to 27.3 per cent, 'Kidnapping & Abduction of Women' rose to 21 per cent from 19 per cent. However, it is surprising in this backdrop that 'Rape' cases have decreased to 10.3 per cent from 11.5 per cent. Maybe, a large number of the abducted or kidnapped females avoided registering cases.

In percentage terms, major crime heads under 'Crime Against Children' during 2017 were kidnapping & abduction (42 per cent) and cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (25.3 per cent) including child rape.

It is also a matter of concern that juveniles under the age group of 16 to 18 are increasingly found in conflict with the law. The percentage of such apprehended juveniles was 72.2 per cent.

Economic offences and cyber crimes are also on the rise. Out of three specified categories of economic offences (viz. criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating & fraud and counterfeiting), forgery, cheating and fraud accounted for maximum such cases, with 1,27,430 cases, followed by criminal breach of trust (20,371 cases) and counterfeiting (1,171 cases) during 2017. As for cyber crimes, 56 per cent of the cases registered were for the motive of fraud (12,213 out of 21,796 cases) followed by sexual exploitation with 6.7 per cent (1,460 cases) and causing disrepute with 4.6 per cent (1,002 cases).

During 2017, a total of 7,75,263 cases were registered under offences against property (25.3 per cent of total IPC crimes), out of which, theft (5,89,058 cases) followed by burglaries (1,10,711 cases) accounting for 76 per cent and 14.3 per cent respectively. Properties worth Rs 5,002 crore were stolen and those worth Rs 1,296 crore were recovered, accounting for 25.9 per cent of recovery of stolen properties. A total of 2,44,119 cases of property crimes took place at residential premises. However, the majority of robberies took place on roadways with 17,626 cases.

Views expressed are strictly personal