28% jump in filing of cases in 2020: NCRB

What is the News?

National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) has released a report titled Crime in India 2020.

What are the key findings of the Crime in India Report?

Registration of Cases: There was a 28% increase in the registration of cases in 2020 in the country compared to 2019. The surge in cases was primarily due to cases registered under violation of COVID-19 norms. 

Special and Local Laws:  Cases increased by four times under the Special and Local Laws (SLL) between 2019 and 2020. This section refers to state regulations imposed to enforce COVID-19 norms. On the other hand, the cases under ‘traditional crime’ had reduced by about 2 lakh cases in 2020.

Crime/Atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs): A total of 50,291 cases were registered for committing crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs), showing an increase of 9.4% over 2019 (45,961 cases). 

Crime/Atrocities against Scheduled Tribes (STs): A total of 8,272 cases were registered for committing crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs), showing an increase of 9.3% over 2019 (7,570 cases).

Crime against Women: A total of 3,71,503 cases of crime against women were registered during 2020, showing a decline of 8.3% over 2019. The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 56.5 in 2020 in comparison with 62.3 in 2019. 

Crime against Children: A total of 1,28,531 cases of crime against children were registered during 2020, showing a decrease of 13.2% over 2019 (1,48,090 cases). The crime rate registered per lakh children population is 28.9 in 2020 in comparison with 33.2 in 2019.

Sedition Cases: The cases of sedition declined from 93 in 2019 to 73 last year, with Manipur reporting 15, Assam 12, Karnataka eight, Uttar Pradesh seven, Haryana six, Delhi five and Kashmir two.

Cyber Crimes: A total of 50,035 cybercrime cases were registered in 2020, showing an increase of 11.8% compared to the 2019 figures of 44,735 cases.

Fake News: A total of 1,527 cases of fake news were recorded in 2020. This is a 214% increase — against 486 cases in 2019 and 280 cases in 2018. Telangana with 273 cases tops the list of states, followed by Tamil Nadu (188) and Uttar Pradesh (166).

Source: This post is based on the following articles 

• “28% jump in filing of cases in 2020: NCRB” published in The Hindu on 16th September 2021.

• “NCRB data: 214% rise in cases relating to fake news, rumours” published in The Indian Express on 16th September 2021.