Bihar tops in property disputes and attacks on police, 2nd in murders and riots

Disputes, especially over property, emerged as the biggest factor behind murders in Bihar. With 13,202 cases of attempt to murder, Bihar was only behind West Bengal, which registered 14,751 such cases in 2020

The latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has painted a grim picture of Bihar on the law-and-order front with the state recording the second highest number of 3,195 murder cases in 2020 after Uttar Pradesh’s 3,939. However, when it comes to land and property related disputes, it left all others behind with 4,838 cases, as Maharashtra ranked second with 1,340 cases registered in 2020 . Bihar also earned the dubious distinction of registering 77 cases of attack on police and government officials last year - the most in the country.

In 2020, 815 persons were killed in Bihar over land disputes, 170 over love affairs, 115 over illicit relations and 16 for political reasons. ((Shutterstock Image))

Disputes, especially over property, emerged as the biggest factor behind murders in Bihar. With 13,202 cases of attempt to murder, Bihar was only behind West Bengal, which registered 14,751 such cases in 2020, as per the NCRB data.

The data revealed that in 2020, 815 persons were killed in the state over land disputes, 170 over love affairs, 115 over illicit relations and 16 for political reasons.

Bihar also saw 7,262 cases of rioting behind Maharashtra’s 9,422 cases. In cases of caste conflicts, 234 people were killed in Bihar in 208 incidents last year.

Bihar also ranked second in dowry-related cases with 2,555 registered matters following 3,031 such cases recorded in Uttar Pradesh and followed by Jharkhand’s 1,535 cases.

The cases of atrocities against Dalits across Bihar rose in 2020 with registration of 7,368 cases, only behind UP, where 12,714 such cases were registered last year.

Bihar also reported second-most instances of kidnapping for ransom with 42 reported incidents reported, however, in the overall statistics for kidnapping and abduction related crime, Bihar was at the fourth spot with 7,889 cases, behind states such as Uttar Pradesh (12, 913) and West Bengal (9309).

With 15,359 recorded incidents in 2020, Bihar ranked ninth in crime against women. Uttar Pradesh with 49, 385 cases, West Bengal with 36, 439 and Rajasthan with 34, 535 cases, were the three worst-performing states on that front.

Bihar recorded 860 rape cases, far less than 5,310 recorded in Rajasthan and 2,769 in UP. In cases of assault on women with intent to outrage modesty, Bihar was 21st among states with most reported incidents in 2020.

Another silver lining was seen in the significant decline in the number of crimes against children in Bihar during the year 2020. In 2019, Bihar ranked fourth, registering 9,320 such cases, but in 2020, the state registered only 6,591 cases.

Similarly, in cases related to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) and crime against senior citizens, Bihar was ranked behind several states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

Overall, Bihar recorded a 4.3 % decrease in the number of crimes under the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws (SLL) compared to 2019.