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.
The report showed though Mumbai was placed second among major cities as per the number of crime cases reported, as per population in lakhs, it was in the 11th sport. Maharashtra cities of Nagpur and Pune were placed sixth and 14th.
Last year, Mumbai recorded 7,820 cases of theft and 4,594 of hurt. Other major offences recorded during the period were forgery/fraud/ cheating (4,899), rash driving (2282), kidnap (1590), sexual harassment (401), death by negligence (386), rape 364, rioting (303) and murder (162), among others, said the report.
Though the NCRB data showed cyber offences rose by 15.6 per cent in Mumbai in 2021, several such cases may have gone unreported as many written complaints were not converted into a first information report (FIR), according to experts.
According to the report, a total of 2,883 cases of different types of cyber offences were registered in 2021 in the financial capital as against 2,433 in 2020 and 2,527 in pre-COVID-19 year of 2019.
Maharashtra overall witnessed a meagre rise of 1.5 per cent in cyber offences in 2021 at 5,562 as against 5,496 in 2020 and 4,967 in 2019, the data showed.
A majority of such cases reported in Maharashtra were related to debit/credit card, sexual exploitation, causing disrepute, anger, personal revenge and extortion, the report added.
