Delhi crime graph up, police commissioner seeks silver lining

Despite crimes escalating in the Capital in 2013, police commissioner Bhim Sen Bassi attributed the increase of 43.6% in Delhi’s annual crime graph in relation with 2012 to prompt and ‘free’ registration of criminal cases throughout 2013.

Despite crimes escalating in the Capital in 2013, police commissioner Bhim Sen Bassi attributed the increase of 43.6% in Delhi’s annual crime graph in relation with 2012 to prompt and ‘free’ registration of criminal cases throughout 2013.

“It is my duty as a police officer to register every single case that is reported. Such is the law of the land,” Bassi said. “Only because more cases were registered, were more criminals apprehended this year,” he added.

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As many as 73,958 cases were registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 2013, up from 51,479 cases in 2012. The police claimed to have solved 48.8% of these.

When it came to crime against women, rape cases swelled from 680 in 2012 to 1,559 in 2013 – an increase of over 129.2%. In 96% cases of rape, the victim was found to be known to the perpetrator. Close to 90 percent of total such cases were solved.

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Cases of molestation saw a dramatic rise – from 653 in 2012 to 3,347 in 2013 – an increase of over 412 percent.

However, Bassi insisted that there was a silver lining to the soaring figures.

"In respect of offences against women, 77% of the cases reported were solved within the first week and nine percent in the second week," he said.