Grave crimes, accident deaths drop in rural Coimbatore

Notable drop in accident deaths and grave crimes, and increase in recovery of stolen cash and valuables have been recorded by the Coimbatore District Police (rural police) in 2014.

Though 682 lives were lost and 2,230 persons were injured in road accidents on the outskirts in 2014, it had dropped from 710 deaths and 2,486 injuries reported in 2013. The police attribute thousands of petty cases booked by them to bring down drunken driving and speeding as reasons for the drop in accident related deaths.

Forty persons were murdered in rural Coimbatore in 2014, of which the police detected 39 cases. The murder of a woman college staff at her house in Karamadai in the first week of November is the only case that has not been solved.

Of the 657 dacoity, robbery, house breaking, theft and chain snatching cases recorded by the rural police last year, 538 were detected, though there was a marginal drop in detection from 85 per cent in 2013 to 82 per cent in 2014.

Superintendent of Police of Coimbatore District, P. Sudhakar, said that valuables worth Rs. 5.04 crore were lost in the crimes of which valuables worth Rs. 4.38 crore were recovered. “This has taken the recovery rate in 2014 to 87 per cent from the 76 per cent in 2013,” he said.

The number of property related crimes increased marginally. There was a drop in number of grave crimes from 204 in 2013 to 180 in 2014. The detection of such crimes increased from 80 to 88 per cent. Cases of bodily offences - murders, attempts to murder, rioting and hurt - came down from 639 in 2013 to 570 in 2014.

Crimes against women came down in rural Coimbatore. From 112 cases in 2013, it came down to 99 last year. Cases of rape came down from eleven (2013) to six and molestations from 40 (2013) to 20 (2014). Kidnap cases and incidents of domestic violence against women had increased. There was no case of dowry death.

Cases of assault on Government servants climbed from 22 in 2013 to 33 in 2014. In an effort to bring down crimes, 43 offenders were detained under Goondas Act in 2014 against 29 in 2013.

There was a crackdown on gambling too, as the police registered 315 cases, arrested 2,014 persons and seized Rs. 42.88 lakh in cash from them last year.

This was more than the arrest of 1,312 persons and seizure of Rs. 20.54 lakh from gamblers in 2013.