Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
At 454, Delhi reported the highest number of murder cases in 2021, followed by Mumbai (162) and Chennai with 161 murder cases. Image Source: IANS
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 29,272 cases of murder were registered in the country during 2021, showing a marginal increase of 0.3 percent over 2020 (29,193 cases).
Disclaimer: Some readers may find the story disturbing. Readers discretion is advised.
A 30 year old woman from Mumbai’s Sakinaka was allegedly murdered inside a moving auto-rickshaw by her boyfriend. She was murdered after her partner slit her throat with a sharp cutter like weapon. Then, using the same weapon, he attempted to kill himself by slashing his throat. According to the Mumbai Police, the incident was discovered on Monday evening. The murder happened on Khairani road in Sakinaka neighbourhood. While riding in an auto rickshaw, the murder suspect and the victim got into a heated argument.
After being made aware of the occurrence, a team of police officers sped off to the location. According to an official, the dead has been identified as Panchashila Jamdar, 30, a local of Chandivali's Sangharshnagar neighbourhood in Sakinaka. According to an official, “The team of police officials investigating the matter have nabbed the suspect in the case and further investigations in the case are underway.” He further added that, “the suspect slit the throat of Panchashila Jamdar inside a moving auto rickshaw. She got out of the vehicle to escape but fell down at some distance away. The suspect tried to allegedly end his life too by gashing his neck with the same sharp-edged weapon."
Datta Nalawade, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone X said, “We started tracing the accused who was seen running away by passersby. After a quick search using the assistance of technical support, we found him hiding in the Rajawadi area. He had a self-inflicted injury near his throat so we took him to the hospital, he is currently receiving treatment.”
Apparently, Deepak initially made up a tale about how the victim attacked him first, claiming his wounds as evidence, but an auto rickshaw driver's witness statement revealed the true course of events. According to Nalawade, Deepak will be questioned more to determine the precise cause for his acts and the rationale for his decision to have a cutter with him when he met the victim. He is accused of murder in a case that has been filed. More investigation is being done.
Deepak jumped out of the moving auto rickshaw after realising what he had just done and was able to leave the area. According to the police, the scene happened on Khairani Road close to Dutta Nagar. In the late afternoon, about 4:30, the incident took place. Deepak had blood streaks on him, and others who saw Deepak also observed the horrifying scene inside the vehicle. As soon as they made a call to the control center, a squad of Saki Naka police officers arrived on the scene. The victim was taken to Rajawadi Hospital, but she was declared dead before arrival by the doctors.
The Sakinaka murder highlights the rising number of murder cases in metropolitan cities across India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 29,272 cases of murder were registered in the country during 2021, showing a marginal increase of 0.3 percent over 2020 (29,193 cases). In 2021, the conviction rate in murder cases was only 42 percent. There was a decline of around 2 percent in conviction rate as compared to 2020 (44 percent).
*Metropolitan Cities- Cities with more than 2 million population (based on 2011 census)
The total number of murder cases registered in metropolitan cities in 2021 was 1,955 compared to 1,849 cases in 2020. At 454, Delhi reported the highest number of murder cases in 2021, followed by Mumbai (162) and Chennai with 161 murder cases. Among the four major metropolitan cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata), Kolkata reported relatively less number of murder cases compared to other three cities. Kolkata reported 45 cases of murder in 2021. The number was lowest in last five years. While Kolkata reported the lowest number of murder cases in last five years, Ahmedabad recorded maximum cases (97) in 2021 in last five years.
Speaking of motive for murders, 23 such cases in the National Capital Region were reported due to love affairs, the highest in the country, followed by Patna with 21 such cases. The maximum victims (869) in murder cases in metropolitan cities were from the age group of 18-30 years followed by the age group of 30-45 years. The total number of people murdered in this age group in metropolitan cities was 725. Maximum number (16) of senior citizens (60 years and above) were murdered in Delhi and Ahmedabad in 2021.
The low conviction rate (42.4 percent) in murder cases shows that in more than half of the cases, the accused are not convicted due to reasons like lack of evidence. This results in failure of delivery of justice. The 1,955 cases of murder reported in the metropolitan cities are just the tip of the iceberg as number of unreported crimes remain high.
Also, the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) data shows a consistent year-on-year rise in crime cases against women in India. 2021, for which the government released its data recently, was the worst year ever. The country saw over four lakh cases of rape, rape and murder, dowry torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, trafficking, and online harassment. There is a 15 percent increase from the previous year crimes.
Source: National Crime Records Bureau
The data shows that there is an increase in the crime against women as compared to the previous years. There has been a constant increase in crimes against women in India as in the year 2017, 3,59,849 number of crimes were registered against women and this number sharply increased to 4,05,861 in 2019. The crimes against women witnessed a fall in the year 2020 as the number of crimes stood at 3,71,503 as compared to the previous year’s 4,05,861.The reason for the dip was the covid-19 pandemic and the nationwide lockdowns imposed to curtail the spread of the virus and the pandemic. But, post pandemic, in 2021 the number of crimes against women was 4,28,278. This was the highest number of crimes against women reported till date. The crime against women in India increased by around 15.3 percent in 2021.
Majority of cases under crime against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (31.8 percent) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (20.8 percent), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (17.6 percent) and ‘Rape’ (7.4 percent). The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 64.5 percent in 2021 as opposed to 56.5 percent in 2020.”
In India, in spite of constitutional and legal safeguards, the crimes against women are on a rise. Gender Disparity is one of the deep rooted causes of violence against women. Though government measures and legal measures are necessary for the protection of women, the society in general also needs to understand this and contribute in safeguarding women from crime.
