The national crime data for the year 2015 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Tuesday has once again ranked Chennai as the safest city among the metros.
While Chennai reported 13,422 crimes and accounted for 2 per cent of the national crime scene, Delhi (city) topped the list with 1,73,947 crimes and contributed 25.7 per cent to the overall crime rate in the country.
With a population of 87 lakh people, the lowest among the four metros, Chennai emerged the safest place for women with the least number of rapes, dowry deaths, assaults and sexual abuse. The city reported just eight complaints of voyeurism and stalking compared to 941 and 341 cases in Delhi and Mumbai respectively.
On the grave crimes front, Delhi topped the list while Chennai was just after Mumbai to take the third place. The city reported 352 cases of murder and attempts to murder cases last year. Chennai registered 1,052 thefts, 338 robbery cases and 37 kidnapping/abduction complaints.
However, the city had its share of disgrace when it came to sexual offences against children. Chennai topped the four metros with 137 cases booked under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. While Kolkata and Delhi reported 91 and 70 cases respectively, Mumbai had just one case booked under the Act.
In cases of counterfeit currency too, Chennai was on the top with 70 cases.
A series of sensational crimes, particularly the gruesome murder of Infosys techie Swathi at Nungambakkam railway station drew sharp criticism from political parties and the civil society The unprecedented theft of Rs. 5.75 crore soiled but usable currency from a train that reached Chennai last month was another robbery that put police in a tight corner.
Chennai Police Commissioner T.K. Rajendran said the declining rate of crimes was not only due to the effective policing but the law-abiding nature of the people. Some of the grave offences reported in recent times were mostly passion crimes or murders due to personal animosity where police could do little to prevent. But the accused in those cases were brought to book at the earliest.
‘Time-tested strategy’
“We have an efficient and time-tested strategy when it comes to maintenance of Law & Order and crime prevention. Gangsters with serious criminal antecedents have either reformed or fled the city. We have almost put an end to organised crimes and rowdyism. Our endeavour is to make the city a safe place for the people, particularly women, children and senior citizens and we have been able to accomplish it to the extent possible,” he said.
On the POCSO Act cases, he said that the increasing number of cases booked under the Act only reflected the level of awareness among the people and the confidence they had in the police.
