Briefing the media about crime statistics in the financial capital, Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said 51,068 criminal cases were registered in 2020 (as compared to 64,656 in 2021) and in 2019 this figure was 41,931. The police commissioner told the media that there is a jump of 26 per cent cases in 201 from 2020, mainly due to a rise in offences related to violation of COVID-19 measures, while incidents of crime against women stood at 5,496 last year, up from 4,539 in the year before that.
He said the increase in criminal cases was mainly due to registration of a large number of offences under the IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), which was invoked against those not following COVID-19-related protocols and violating curbs put in place to stem the spread of the infection.
Section 188 IPC deals with people disobeying orders passed by a public servant and provides for jail terms ranging from one to six months. For those violating orders passed under the Epidemic Diseases Act, which was invoked when the coronavirus pandemic hit India in 2020, section 188 of the IPC is the provision under which punishment is given by courts. Nagrale was speaking to reporters at an event organised for the publication of ‘Annual Report-2021’. Such a report was last published in 2006, an official said.
A total of 30,843 cases were registered under the IPC section 188 in Mumbai in 2021 as compared to 22,824 in 2020, he said. The overall crime detection rate in 2021 was 82 per cent, up from 79 per cent in 2020, the police commissioner stated. According to the report, 177 offences were registered per day in 2021 and the number of murder cases increased by 3 per cent compared to 2020. There was a 20 per cent increase in property-related offences in 2021 at 10,418 from 8,646 in 2020, it said.
Last year, the Mumbai police focused on tackling crimes against women and those happening in the cyber world, Nagrale said. Crimes against women included rape, kidnapping, molestation, eve-teasing, harassment under IPC section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) murder, suicide, mental and physical harassment due to other reasons. Overall, crime against women in 2021 has decreased by 942 when compared to 2019, but when compared to 2020, the cases have increased by 957, he said.
Mumbai saw the registration of 5,496 cases under this category in 2021, 4,539 in 2020 and 6,438 in 2019. The overall detection rate of crime against women in 2021 was 79 per cent, down from 83 per cent in 2020, he said. Most of the undetected cases related to live-in relationships or marriage promises are not fulfilled, he said. According to the report, there was a 21 per cent increase in crimes related to women in 2021. There was a 15 per cent increase in rape cases in 2021 (888) as compared to the year before that (776). This figure was 1,015 in 2019.
Speaking about rape cases, he said ‘friends’ and ‘social media friends’ formed the category for the highest number of accused in such instances. The known accused category (where victims were acquainted with the accused) accounted for the second-highest number of offenders, he said.
Rape incidents where minors were victims and were committed by neighbours were down in 2021 as compared to 2019.
Speaking about instances of kidnapping and missing persons between 2014 and 2021, Nagrale said a total of 76,467 victims in such cases were traced out of 86,349.
As many as 4,465 kidnapped boys were traced out of 4786 cases, whereas 8,596 abducted girls were traced out of 9,124 cases, he said.
In 2021, 4,185 kg of drugs and narcotics substances were seized under the NDPS Act (called ‘NDPS property’ in the report) as compared to 1,127 kg in 2020 and 1,276 kg in 2019, he said.
In terms of value, the recovery in 2021 was worth Rs 151,40,96,851 and Rs 28,83,78,669 in 2020, the police commissioner said.
On economic offences, the IPS officer said in 2021, Rs 62.84 crore of assets and other items were seized in such cases out of which Rs 39.84 crore worth of property was returned to complainants and investors.
A total of 21,81,628 ‘challans’ (fine receipts) were issued by the Mumbai traffic police in 2021 for violation of rules and more than Rs 56 crore was recovered from offenders, he said. As many as 8.06 lakh cases of two-wheeler riders driving without helmets were detected, Nagrale said.
Speaking about disciplinary actions against erring law enforcement personnel, Nagrale said 81 police officers were suspended in 2021.There were 2,437 police officers and other personnel who were punished on various grounds, while 32 officials were dismissed from service, he said.
Police personnel were at the forefront of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in Mumbai and 126 such personnel, including 87 constables, died while performing various duties, the IPS officer said.
