Delhi leads in rate of FIRs of crimes against women: NCRB data

NCRB data: The majority of crimes against women under the Indian Penal Code were of cruelty by husband or his relatives.

New Delhi: Delhi logged the highest rate of FIRs linked to crimes against women in the country in 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data revealed. The national capital recorded 14247 cases in 2022 with a rate of 144.4 (per lakh), which is way above the national average of 66.4. The figures in 2020 and 2021 were 10,093 and 14,277 respectively.

Delhi (Representational image)

In absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh logged 65743 cases in 2022, Maharashtra 45331, Rajasthan 45058, West Bengal 34738, Madhya Pradesh 32,765. These five states account for 50 percent of the total cases lodged in the country.

12 states and union territories logged a crime rate higher than the national average. Apart from Delhi, Haryana's crime rate was 118.7, Telangana 117, Rajasthan 115.1, Odisha 103, Andhra Pradesh 96.2, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 93.7, Kerala 82, Assam 81, MP 78.8, Uttarakhand 77, Maharashtra 75.1 and West Bengal 71.8. UP's crime rate was 58.6.

4,45,256 cases of crimes against women were registered in India in 2022, which translates into 51 FIRs per hour.

The majority of crimes against women under the Indian Penal Code were of cruelty by husband or his relatives (31.4 per cent) followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (19.2 per cent), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (18.7 per cent), and rape (7.1 per cent), the NCRB stated, per PTI.

The increase in the rate of FIRs doesn't mean an increase in crimes. It means more people are coming forward to register crimes.

“Increase in crime numbers in a state police data may in fact be on account of certain citizen-centric police initiatives, like launching of e-FIR facility or women helpdesks. The increase or decrease in crime numbers, however, does call for a professional investigation of underlying factors pertaining to the local communities to suitably address the pertinent issues,” NCRB said.

With inputs from PTI