Sensational killings, street crime kept Delhi on edge in 2021

A senior Delhi Police officer who asked not to be named said it would not be fair to compare the crime data from 2020 and 2021, because last year, the city was under a strict lockdown

Even as the national Capital endured a punishing wave of Covid-19 infection in 2021, cases of crime grew steadily recording a surge over the incidents reported last year with sensational murders and street criminals keeping the city on the edge, according to the Delhi Police data between January 1 and November 30.

The Delhi Police said any comparison with a year when a nationwide lockdown and rampant restrictions on movement of people were imposed due to a pandemic is bound to be unfair. (ANI)

If the involvement of Olympic medal winner Sushil Kumar in the murder of a fellow wrestler at a city stadium exposed the dark nexus between sportspersons and property dealers, the killing of gangster Jitender Maan alias Gogi inside a courtroom reminded the Capital how organised crime remained a persistent challenge for the security agencies.

The city also saw desperate snatchers murdering their victims as the crime, one of the parameters of how safe the streets are for the citizens, rose to 7,645 between January 1 and November 30, compared to 6,434 incidents during the corresponding period last year, showed police data. Cases of vehicle theft, another most frequent crime in the capital, went up again after recording a rare dip last year since 2011, the data showed.

Crimes against women

According to the police data, Delhi reported 1,721 rape cases this year till November 30, compared to 1,448 last year. The number of harassment cases, categorised under ‘eve teasing’ in police records, also surged to 2,193 from 1,824 last year. Among the most shocking rape cases this year was that of a Dalit minor girl who was gang-raped and murdered at a crematorium in west Delhi’s cantonment area on August 1 by four people when she had gone to fetch water from an electric cooler.

Cases pertaining to persecution of women within the confines of their house also grew as incidents registered under sections pertaining to cruelty by husband recorded a hike -- from 2,052 last year to 3,221 this year, the data shows. Cases of dowry deaths went up from 96 to 116.

Snatching and robbery

Snatching, considered as a gateway crime, continued to be one of the most frequent in the city with 7,645 cases being reported till November 30, over 6,434 last year. Desperate criminals, many of whom don’t even have a police record, targeted people, mostly women, on two-wheelers taking away gold jewellery and mobile phones. Two incidents, however, underline the limits to which such criminals are ready to go now. The first of these was reported on February, in which a woman was stabbed to death in a lane, just metres away from her house in north Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar even as she held her two-year-old daughter in her arms, and trying to resist two snatchers. The second was reported last week from south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar where a group of at least eight robbed two men in a lane, and beat them brutally with stones leading to the death of one of the victims. As the victim laid lifeless, the robbers took Rs3,000 from his pocket, and walked away.

Vehicle theft

Delhi is among the cities reporting highest cases of vehicle thefts. 2021 was no different. According to the police data, cases of vehicle thefts increased from 29,353 last year to 31,434 this year (till November 30). Records of vehicles stolen and later traced by police this year showed how far the racket has taken root. Stolen vehicles and thieves were traced as far back as Nagaland, Sikkim and Kashmir. To be sure, vehicle theft is one crime that has seen a continuous increase in Delhi since 2011. But it recorded a dip last year with cases going down to 35,019 from 46,725 in 2019.

Murder/attempted murder

On November 3, a 26-year-old man allegedly tied up a 23-year-old woman, a neighbour, and threw acid on her in outer Delhi’s Bawana. The woman succumbed to her injuries two weeks later. Then, on July 7, Kitty Kumaramanglam, the wife of former Union minister PR Kumaramangalam was murdered at her Vasant Vihar house by a man who ironed clothes at lane near her house.

But, the incident that even shocked the police force was the murder of gangster Gogi who was shot dead inside a courtroom during the presence of a magistrate by two assailants belonging to a rival gang. The same court was again rocked by another sensational crime when a DRDO scientist managed to take an improvised explosive device inside the court premises and exploded it in an attempt to kill a lawyer who lived in his neighbourhood. The two incidents raised serious questions over the security at districts courts in the capital, and led the police to take urgent measures to enhance security.

Police speak

The Delhi Police said any comparison with a year when a nationwide lockdown and rampant restrictions on movement of people were imposed due to a pandemic is bound to be unfair. “It will erroneous comparison. If it is any indication, this year’s crime figures may have followed the trend shown in the second half of last year when there was a sharp increase in crime figures as compared to the first half. Hence there is a need to correctly analyse and interpret crime data to get the actual trends,” said Chinmoy Biswal, Delhi Police’s spokesperson.

“Increase in the number of crimes is also to prompt and unbiased registration of cases, and a higher conversion of PCR calls into FIRs. More reporting of crime also reflects increase in the trust that the citizens have in the police that the offences will get registered and solved. This year, we have taken stern action against street crimes as a result of which arrests of criminals has also gone up by 20%. This goes a long way in reducing crime on ground,” he said.

“Moreover, with dedicated investigation wings in all police stations now, investigation of crimes will get a boost to further push the conviction rates up which is a big deterrent of crime as well as a marker of justice delivery. Delhi Police is geared up for this,” he said.

Rajinder Singh, former Delhi Police officer, who played a vital role in cracking the 2016 gang rape case, said 2020 and 2021 were quite different years when comes to crime in the city. “In 2020, everyone was confined at their homes due to the Covid lockdown for most part of the year, and it affected everyone, including those who committed crimes. Thus, as soon as restrictions were relaxed, the number of street crimes rose sharply as well as that of cyber frauds since people were mostly transacting their businesses online. Besides this, people who were released on parole to decongest prisons, also got involved in various cases,” he said.

The Delhi Police also launched several area-specific operations to curb incidents of crime. In the outer north district, police launched the ‘hawk-eye’ operation in which the cops dressed casually and posed as street to catch street criminals. In the northwest district, police launched operation ‘Tejaswini’ to curb crime against women, and in Dwarka district, the police carried out operation ‘Varchasv’, in which the boots on the ground were increased to send a message to the criminals.