Maha tops in IPC crimes in 2021, UP placed at 2nd spot

Mumbai: Maharashtra recorded the highest number of cases in the country under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2021 at 3,67,218, while Mumbai was placed second among major metropolitan cities in registration of criminal offences, according to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.

According to the report, at least 174 different types of criminal offences were registered under IPC sections every day in Mumbai, which included 14 cases of "violent crimes" in 2021.

Data from the New Delhi-headquartered NCRB, which is part of the Union home ministry, showed a rise of 27 per cent in criminal cases (63,689) in Mumbai (during lockdown-like restrictions) in 2021 as against 50,158 in 2020 and 40,684 in 2019.

Violent crimes like murder, kidnap and rape, and offences against senior citizens, women and children, too, rose in the financial capital last year, said the report.

Maharashtra also topped in registration of cases related to "riots" across the country. As many as 8,709 such offences (which included 77 cases of communal riots, 86 political, 67 caste conflict, 355 agrarian, 197 linked to money, 1,259 land and property dispute, 304 family dispute) were recorded in the state in 2021.

Maharashtra was followed by Bihar (6,298), Uttar Pradesh (5,302), Karnataka (4,193), Tamil Nadu (2,275), Haryana (2,253) and Odisha 2,220, as per the NCRB report.

The number of cases reported and calculated is as per population in lakhs. As per the population rate calculated per lakhs, Mumbai was placed 11th in the country in the total number of crimes among major cities in 2021 - the city was at the 15th spot in 2020.

The number of IPC cases registered in Maharashtra in 2021 was 3,67,218, the highest in the country, but it was down by 6.8 per cent from 3,94,017 in 2020, and the western state was followed by Uttar Pradesh (3,57,905), said the report.

Mumbai ranked second nationally when it comes to crimes committed by juveniles. The metropolis recorded 611 crimes committed by minors, which included several cases of theft and assault, it said.

There were also cases of voyeurism, sexual harassment, kidnapping and stalking where minors were taken into custody by police in the financial capital, said the report.

Looking at crime percentage, Mumbai stood second with 63,689 cases in 2021. Delhi topped the list both in terms of population count and crime rate with 2.89 lakh cases recorded during the period, the data showed.