Crime rate falls, but rape, vehicle thefts rise in Navi Mumbai

January 09, 2017 07:25 am | Updated 07:25 am IST - Mumbai:

Parents and public gather at MGM School, Nerul to protest the rape of a minor by a teacher in December 2016.

Parents and public gather at MGM School, Nerul to protest the rape of a minor by a teacher in December 2016.

Instances of crime were comparatively less in 2016 when compared to 2015, but instances of rape and vehicle theft rose. In fact, vehicle thefts have been a worrisome issue for the Navi Mumbai police. Vehicle theft cases in 2015 were 594, of which only 142 cases were solved. In 2016, 238 of 676 such cases were solved by Navi Mumbai police. While the detection rate in these cases has gone up from 24 per cent in 2015 to 35 per cent in 2016, cases registered have also increased by 82 per cent.

According to police, the accused in 88 per cent of the 139 cases of rape registered in Navi Mumbai was allegedly someone known to the victim. Of these, 64 per cent involve the victim being raped after being promised marriage, while relatives are the accused in 12 per cent of these cases. In 61 cases, the victim was a minor and the offence was registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). 134 of the 139 rape cases were solved. In 2015, 104 rape cases were registered, of which 102 cases were solved.

“The rise in rape cases in 2016 is because more victims are reporting such crimes. We have been holding seminars and recently distributed a booklet on women’s rights. The city is very safe for women,” Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Hemant Nagrale said. Cases of molestation have gone down in 2016. In 2015, 202 cases of molestation were reported of which 195 were solved, while in 2016, 189 were reported of which 177 were solved.

Mr. Nagrale claimed that Navi Mumbai police have the highest conviction rate in the State. “We have 62 per cent conviction in the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class and 14 per cent in the Sessions Court, thus making us the police department with the highest conviction rate in Maharashtra.”

In all, 42 cases of murder were reported in 2016. In 12 cases, women were killed by their husbands and sons killed their father in two cases. Three cases involved fathers killing their sons, and one was a contract killing.

Cases of dacoity, chain snatching, house breaking, cheating, and extortion witnessed a decrease in 2016, and recovery of property in those cases has gone up. A total of 5,405 cases were registered in 2015, of which 67 per cent or 3,624 cases were solved. In 2016, 3,382 of 4,801 cases were solved, making for a detection rate of 70 per cent.

Traffic and the city

The Navi Mumbai traffic police have seen a steep increase in drunk driving cases at 15 units between January and December 2016. While traffic police officials attributed the rise to increased nakabandis. However, the number of cases recorded from January 2016 to December 2016 is twice that of the previous year. As per data with the traffic police, 3,269 cases have been registered and ₹37,44,200 was collected in fines till December 31, 2016.

During 2015, around 1,811 cases of drunk driving were recorded and fine of ₹17,36,700 was collected, compared to 1,104 such cases in 2014, when ₹10,21,800 was collected in fines. In 2013, 1,202 cases were registered and ₹14,85,800 was collected in fines.

Speaking to The Hindu , DCP (Traffic) Nitin Pawar said, “The increased number of the case was due to the fortnightly drives by the department. Driving under the influence of alcohol is not only risky for them but for other motorists too,” he said.

Ashutosh Attray, road safety and transport expert and director, Ace Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd., said, “These drives need to be intensified. The police should use upgraded breath analysers and the analyses should be more scientific. The government should handle the drunk driving cases more strictly.”

Claiming that traffic rules are being flouted more and more, he said, “Unless they (motorists) spot a traffic police officer, they do not bother to adhere to laws. It is not possible to have a cop at every street corner. The issue is the casual attitude of people for their life and those of others.”

In 2016, the traffic police collected ₹6.7 crore in fines, compared to ₹4.48 crore in 2015. “The e-challan system and increased police presence on the road including traffic and police station officers have resulted in the rise in fines collected,” Mr. Nagrale said. There has been a decrease of traffic violation cases reported in 2016, with 1,854 cases were reported as against 2,193 in 2015. Meanwhile, due to more police presence, drunk driving cases reported in the year 2016 has increased by 81 percent with 3269 cases reported in 2016 as against 1811 in the year 2015. A total of ₹17 lakh fine was collected in drunk driving cases in the year 2015 while ₹36 lakh in 2016.

In the year 2015, 604 cases of motor vehicle accidents were reported while in the year 2016, it came down to 484 in the year 2016. Fatal accidents in the year 2015 were 367 which came down to 337 in 2016. “Having important state highways and Palm Beach road in our jurisdiction, we had taken security measures to curb accidents and that has given us results too,” Mr Nagrale said.

New departments

Navi Mumbai Police had Zone I and Zone II added in June 2016 to their single Economic Offence Wing (EOW). The Anti-Narcotics Cell was also started in 2016. A Criminal Monitoring Cell was started last year to gather information on criminals and pass it on to all police stations. This cell also looks into the number of cases against one person and submits a report. Based on this, MCOCA cases are registered. The Modus Operandi Bureau was also started, which is in charge of digitising information on criminals. Till now, records of 4,580 criminals have been digitised.

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