City Beautiful saw a surge in murders this year
The brutal murder of two college students on December 19, at an apartment in Sector 15, brought the total tally of murders in Chandigarh this year to 25, up from 19 last year.
Of the total, nine murders were reported in the first three months of 2019. It also included the early morning attack by a group of armed students in the densely populated Housing Board area of Sector 49, on March 7, in which Vishal Chillar, a student leader of DAV College, Sector 10, was gunned down by rival gang members.
The gruesome murder was followed by another sensational murder that of 27-year-old Amit Katoch on June 29. Katoch was also killed in broad daylight by a group of four youngsters armed with swords and knifes in the inner market of Sector 40. The incident sent shockwaves across the city.
In another case, property dealer Sonu Shah was killed in his office at Burail by armed assailants in broad daylight in an organised crime incident in the city.
Chandigarh police claim that from 25, a total of 21 cases have been solved.
VIOLENT CRIME SEES A DECLINE
Chandigarh saw a huge fall in the number of violent crimes in 2019. As per the police records accessed by Hindustan Times, the city saw a 45% dip in the number of robbery cases while burglary and snatching cases saw a decline of 37% and 38%, respectively.
Likewise, the cases of motor vehicle theft saw a 23% decline and miscellaneous thefts 11% dip. Under these five heads, a total of 1,086 cases were registered that saw a reduction of 24%. Last year, the number stood at 1,442.
DRUG CASES
Under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the local police recovered nearly 2.814 kg heroin in 2019. Police said from the total, nearly 1075.27 gm was recovered from the arrest of 13 Nigerian nationals.
Senior superintendent of police(SSP) Nilambari Jagadale said, “It is a result of tough measures brought in. The measures included increasing the number of officers deployed in the worst-hit areas. Our initiatives like rokko-tokko abhiyaan and reviving of beat system played an important role in curbing the crime.”