Dispute behind maximum murders in Ludhiana, reveals NCRB’s 2019 data

As many as 25 of the total 56 cases were the result of disagreements over various matters.

Dispute due to multiple reasons was the primary cause behind the 56 murders reported in Ludhiana district in 2019.

Illicit relations was the second leading cause of murders. (Shutterstock)

According to the data released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), as many as 25 of the victims were killed following disputes – constituting 44.6% of the tally.

As per the bureau’s report, there were 53 murders in 2018 and 56 in the subsequent year – a 5% spike in cases. 2017 saw the highest murders (59) among the three years.

In Punjab, which had 679 murders in 2019, NCRB released homicide data for only Ludhiana and Amritsar cities, which had 18 cases in 2019.

State capital Chandigarh had 26 cases. In all, the report provided data for 34 cities.

This included the death of a 42-year-old realtor, who was shot dead during a birthday party following an altercation at Castle’s Barbeque restaurant and bar in Ludhiana’s Pavilion Mall on the intervening night of September 13 and 14 in 2019. This murder, resulting from a petty quarrel during a party, had left the city shocked.

Dispute resulting from money matters led to the murder of four people, while property dispute was also behind one such case.

Police investigations had found personal rivalry as the reason for four murders, while in two cases, personal gain was the driving force behind two people being killed.

The second leading cause in the city – resulting in 10 murders – was illicit relationships. While the police could not establish the cause behind six cases, they also found that two women were killed by their husbands or in-laws over dowry. The NCRB report lists three murders for dowry in Punjab, of which two were reported in Ludhiana.

Murders are penalised under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, which may entail life imprisonment or even capital punishment.