Bengaluru is red-faced as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has placed the city right at the top on crimes committed against children in its report for 2015. While the police attribute this to better investigation rather than a real rise in crimes of this nature, the fact that the city, once labelled a pensioner’s paradise, is now at third place where all cognisable crimes are concerned , among 53 mega cities of the country, cannot be brushed aside as easily, however much the men in khaki may want to.
City tops in sexual crimes against children
Bengaluru has to own up to the shameful fact that it saw the most number of sexual crimes against children among all cities in the country in 2015 when it registered as many as 273 such cases. Ahmedabad came next with 191 cases and Indore followed with 189. The state as a whole saw 3961 sexual crimes against children during the year, giving it the dubious distinction of being home to the fourth highest number of such crimes in the country.
Third in murders
Disturbingly, Bengaluru also had the third highest number of murders (188) last year, beaten only by Delhi, which registered 464 murders, and Patna which saw 232. The city is next only to Delhi where attempted murder is concerned as well, registering 464 such cases as against the latter's 674. The state as whole is ranked eighth when it comes to murders with 1557 reported last year. Uttar Pradesh topped with 4732, and Bihar came next with 3178.
Third in kidnapping
There’s more reason to believe that Bengaluru is getting increasingly unsafe as it had the third highest number (777) of kidnappings and abductions for murder and ransom, as well as for compelling women into marriage. Delhi however, topped with a whopping 6630 such cases in 2015.
Crimes against women down
The city only looks better where safety of women is concerned as the number of crimes against them fell in 2015 from the previous year. The NCRB puts the city at 12th place where custodial and non-custodial rapes are concerned as well as in gang rapes and rape attempts. While Bengaluru saw 112 such crimes last year, Delhi saw a staggering 1893, and Mumbai, 712.
Read: Guest column: Number of POCSO cases high, only because awareness is high
Tops in atrocities
Giving its progressive image a jolt, the NCRB data reveals Bengaluru registered the most number of cases (139) under the Prevention of Atrocities Act last year. Visakhapatnam came a close second with 137 such cases.
Tops in dowry cases
Bengaluru also tops in the number of cases registered under the Dowry Prohibition Act. With 714 such cases, it left the cities that came next, Jamshedpur with 157 and Patna with 151, trailing far behind.
Third in dowry deaths
Denting its image of a modern city further, the NCRB reveals that Bengaluru had the third highest number of dowry deaths( 54) in 2015. It was beaten only by Delhi, which registered 100 such deaths and Patna, with 74.
Tops in cyber crime
Not surprisingly, the IT city reported the highest number of cyber crimes during the year, registering as many as 1041 under the Information Technology Act. Jaipur was a distant second with 459 cases, and Hyderabad stood third with 354. But overall, it was Uttar Pradesh, which reported the most number ( 2161) of cyber crimes. Karnataka came next with 1, 414 .
Third in rioting
Law and order too seems to be a problem in the city as it is ranked third for rioting in 2015, registering 373 cases during the year. Patna, however, tops with 725 cases of rioting and Mumbai follows with 396 such cases. Karnataka as a whole however, is placed fourth in the country with 6602 cases of rioting, after Bihar ( 13,31), Maharashtra( 8336) and Uttar Pradesh( 6813).
Fourth in robberies
Robbers were clearly active in the city last year as it had the fourth highest number of robberies (707) among the cities covered by the NCRB. Delhi occupied the top slot here too with 6766 robberies , followed by Mumbai ( 1708) and Pune ( 731). The state as a whole stood third with 1906 cases, much fewer than Uttar Pradesh’s 3637 and Maharashtra’s 8561.
Second in thefts
The city had more thefts than Mumbai last year. While it reported 11, 409, Mumbai registered 10, 422. The two were beaten by Delhi, which reported 96,924 thefts.
... coz, policing is better
The NCRB data showing a rise in crime in the city doesn’t seem to worry a retired police officer, who believes it does not reflect an actual increase in crime, but is only the result of more active policing and increased awareness among people. Noting that several crimes are now being reported on social media, he says this is helping the police register more cases than before.
“In many cases the police have acted on the basis of Facebook posts by victims of crimes. This is a welcome change as it makes the police more active. Social media is helping with the reporting of crime as not many people are ready to go to police stations and lodge a written complaint for various reasons,” he said, arguing that rise in crime reflected in an agency's data did not necessarily mean the situation was deteriorating.
“We also need to consider increase in the population, expansion of city limits and so on before we jump to conclusions,” he underlined, however acknowledging that at the end of the day the police had the responsibility of building a crime-free society.
Social activists however, beg to differ. “The police is not only supposed to arrest criminals but also prevent crime from taking place. For instance, dowry deaths, cases of sexual harassment and communal trouble can be avoided by proactive policing. It is sad to see a rise in crimes against children in the city,” rued one activist, Hari Bhat.
