Crime figures don’t lie

The Delhi Police is nothing if not ingenious. All that the force appeared to do in 2010 was find ways to prove the point that the city was better policed than ever before. Karan Choudhury reports.

The Delhi Police is nothing if not ingenious. All that the force appeared to do in 2010 was find ways to prove the point that the city was better policed than ever before.

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Although police records show a rise in every sort of crime in the Capital, the Delhi Police resorted to such pithy phrases as 'quantifying crime to per lakh of population' to stress that the city was safe.

Contrary to their claim, after five years, Delhi again witnessed a spurt in cases of rape — a crime that had seen a downward trend till the end of 2009. Snatching cases, like every other year, saw a rise and would had been higher if more cases had been registered.

Even cases of murder, that went down minutely in 2009, have gone up in 2010.

Rape capital

Delhi managed to gain notoriety as rape Capital of the country yet again. The last three months of 2010 were the most unsafe ever for women in the city. The Capital witnessed two rapes per day on an average.

Walking on the streets of the city became nightmarish, as women on graveyard shifts were abducted and raped in moving vehicles. 'Mandawali Rape Case', 'Dhaula Kuan Rape Case', and a horde of similar cases kept the police on their toes. But even increased patrolling and barricades were not able to make any difference. “More women were abducted and raped in the last three months of 2009,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

Rise in Street crime

Cases of chain snatching, robbery and even pick-pocketing rose in 2010, demolishing the Delhi Police's claim of cracking down on street criminals.

Many cases of mobile phone snatching, chain snatching and other street crimes went unreported although the police claimed that they were registering every complaint brought to their notice. The city also saw a new breed of criminals called the 'burn and burgle gang', headed by juveniles.

Vehicle Thefts

Delhiites lost more vehicles in 2010 than they did in 2009. More than 14, 200 vehicles were lost to auto lifters in the city.