Jammu & Kashmir crime graph surges 26.4% in 2021, marginal decline in violent crimes: NCRB report

The overall crime graph in Jammu and Kashmir increased by 24.6 per cent in 2021 as compared to the previous year, while the cases of violent crimes declined marginally, the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) said in its latest report.

As against 25,408 cognizable crimes comprising 22,404 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 3,004 Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes in 2019, the total figure of criminal cases jumped to 31,675 in 2021 which include 27,447 IPC crimes and 4,228 SLL crimes, the report said.

The year 2020, which saw the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, recorded a total of 28,911 cognizable crimes - 25,233 IPC crimes and 3,678 SLL crimes.

The report said the crime rate registration per lakh population stands at 235.7 from 2019 to 2021, while the overall chargesheeting rate touched 81.4 per cent.

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The registration of cases under the IPC was 22,404 in 2019, 25,233 in 2020, 27,447 in 2021 and that under the SLL was 3,004 in 2019, 3,678 in 2020 and 4,228 in 2021.

However, the report said the violent crime incidents recorded a marginal decline with 3,100 such incidents reported in 2019 against 3,072 in 2021. The year 2020 recorded a total of 2,821 such cases and the charge sheeting rate was 67.2 per cent during this period.

The report said there were 136 cases of murder in 2021 against 149 in the previous year. The Union Territory recorded 119 murder cases in 2019.

Of the 136 people murdered in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021, 30 lost their lives due to extremism or insurgency, two to political reasons, one to honour killing, 10 to love affair and three to illicit relationship.

The report said 79.9 per cent of the murder culprits were chargesheeted.

It said four incidents of infanticide, three of foeticide and 16 dowry deaths were also reported from J&K in 2021.

As many as 1,346 people died due to negligence, mostly in road accidents, last year, the report stated.

The 3,072 violent crimes comprised 315 cases of rape, 1,041 cases related to abduction, 751 cases of rioting and 131 cases of arson.

The report noted that the abduction cases crossed the three digit mark in 2021 as the previous two years reported 961 such cases in 2019 and 868 in 2020. The chargesheeting rate remained at a low of 33.6 per cent.

Majority of the abducted persons are women, many of whom were kidnapped to force them into marriage.

The report said the number of unrecovered abducted persons till the end of 2021 was 1,882 who included 957 women who were abducted during the year and 811 other women who were kidnapped before 2021 but could not be traced during the year.

However, 1,051 abducted persons were recovered during the year 2021. Two of them were found dead after abduction, while the rest of the victims including 811 women were found alive.

The report said the crimes committed by juveniles also marked an increase in 2021. While 299 such cases were registered in 2019, the number jumped to 323 in 2021 with 2020 recording only 171 cases.

According to the report, Jammu and Kashmir registered 289 cases under the the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, two under the Official Secrets Act and 300 under offences against state-related acts last year.

As many as 247 cases were registered under arms and explosives related acts and 29 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 35 Finance and Economic Act and 718 under the Excise Act.

Jammu And Kashmir also registered 1,681 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.