In south Mumbai, crime heads north

Crime in south Mumbai is on the rise, show police statistics sourced by the Praja Foundation through a Right To Information query.

Crime in south Mumbai is on the rise, show police statistics sourced by the Praja Foundation through a Right To Information query.

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South Mumbai, including areas such as Worli, Sewri, Byculla, Malabar Hill and Colaba, has seen a rise in the cases of murder, break-ins and theft.

There were 43 murder cases registered in 2008-09 and 47 the next year, the highest in Mumbai. South Central Mumbai followed, with 40 murder cases in 2008-09 and 46 in 2009-10.

South Mumbai also tops in theft — 1,529 cases in 2008-09 and 1,508 in 2009-10.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that south Mumbai also tops the list of zones with staff shortages.

With a population of 23,83,385 and 25 police stations, the zone was sanctioned 5,085 police personnel. However, till last August only 4,682 policemen were posted there.

“There is a 50% shortage of personnel in the city. However, it’s our duty to detect crime and we are doing that,” said Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal.

Praja is starting a campaign, asking questions like what police reforms should be implemented, why is there a staff shortage and why does south Mumbai have the most murders, thefts and break-ins. A petition signed by citizens would be handed over to Home Minister RR Patil.

“Since south Mumbai tops the crime chart, we would start our signature campaign from Azad Maidan,” said Nitai Mehta, Praja’s founder-trustee.