A Staggering 3,502 murders took place in Meerut zone in the last three years, according to police data.
The gruesome nature of some of these murders can be gauged from the verdicts of local courts, which handed death to 21 convicts in a span of eight months. Seven of the 21 men were handed death after being convicted of rape charges.
As experts attribute the rising crime graph to social, economical, psychological and political factors, zonal Inspector-General VK Gupta said, “We have left no chance to provide people with an atmosphere free of fear.” He insisted the situation had improved in the last few months.
Prof. SK Chaturvedi, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Chaudhury Charan Singh University, who has carried out studies in policing in India, also attributed the high number of murders in the region to multiple social problems — rapid development, political rivalry, rising stress and the unruly nature of the neo-rich.
Meerut zone, with a population of 1.5 crore, is policed by 70 inspectors, 1,200 sub-inspectors, 17,000 head constables and 12,000 constables. The zone has seven districts.