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Bengaluru reported most cases filed against civic agencies for causing death: NCRB data
A senior traffic police official said that in the past few years, there has been demand among people in Bengaluru to hold the civic agencies responsible for the death due to bad infrastructure
: Bengaluru led the country in registering cases against civic authorities for causing death due to negligence in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) latest report.
Its 18 cases account for 85% of all such cases reported in the country. Mumbai and New Delhi accounted for the three other cases reported in this category, while all other major cities didn’t book any civic authorities for death due to negligence.
Even though the number of cases is less compared to 49 in 2019, the numbers remain promising as in 2018, the city had booked civic authorities for their negligence only thrice. However, no data was available on how many of them were charge-sheeted and how many convictions were reported.
A senior traffic police official said that in the past few years, there has been demand among people to hold the civic agencies responsible for the death due to bad infrastructure. Taking the example of a recent case where a 64-year-old was killed in an accident because of the bad condition of the road, he said a case was registered against the civic agencies. But police face criticism from city-based activists for not taking these cases to their logical conclusion.
The city was also a fifth in the country in the number of cases reported under the Indian Penal Code. The rate of crime in the city, that is, number of crimes per 100,000 population, was 234.9. In comparison, Chennai reported a crime rate of 1,016.4, while Kochi and Hyderabad reported 282.2 and 206.2, according to the NCRB data.
Bengaluru also topped the country for the number of cases registered under the Information Technology Act. While it reported 8,892 cases under this section, the second-highest number under this Act was reported in Lucknow, which accounted for 1,451 cases.
“We have been booking cases meticulously for the past few years and this could be seen in the number of cases registered in the city,” said Karnataka police chief Praveen Sood.
“Yes, we are registering the highest number of cases, but since many of the cybercrimes originate outside the country, detection is difficult. So we have started a process, where people can recover the money they lost due to Phishing or other cybercrimes by calling a dedicated number -- 112,” he said.
We have created a network with the banks and whenever someone calls us, we are freezing the account used for stealing money. The money from the frozen transaction is later returned to the victim through a court process,” he said.
In major crimes, Bengaluru reported the second-highest number of murders in the country, after Delhi. As many as 179 murders were reported, and 191 persons lost their lives in the city. In comparison, 204 murders were reported in Bengaluru in 2019 and 210 people had lost their lives.
Bengaluru also reported the highest number of cases of abetment to suicide. With 99 cases and 101 victims, the city surpassed New Delhi in this section, which reported 88.
Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant said this is an area where a revision is required. “We have come across many instances where abetment to suicide is reported without solid evidence to back the claim. But, we are not denying anyone their right to register a complaint,” he added.
The city also reported the highest number of cases under the Dowry Prohibition Act. Bengaluru reported 580 cases, followed by Delhi at 14 cases. “Number of cases being high is a good sign and concern as well. The higher numbers show police are taking more complaints, but there are allegations of this rule being misused,” said a senior police officer.
The last two categories where Bengaluru recorded high number of cases were drug cases under (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985) and action taken against foreigners. In 2020, Bengaluru booked 2,766 cases under NDPS, second only to Mumbai which recorded 3,509 cases. “This is the result of the campaign Bengaluru police started in early 2020. We have been cracking down on drug suppliers in the city,” said Sood.
He added that the increase in cases registered under the foreigner’s Act is directly related to those filed under NDPS and IT Act.
“We have seen involvement of overstaying foreign citizens in drug cases and cybercrimes,” the police chief said.
