327% rise in agrarian riots in 2015, NCRB report shows

Recorded incidents of agrarian riots jumped 327 per cent from 628 in 2014 to 2,683 in 2015.

Incidents of rioting remained almost the same in 2015 as compared to 2014, but as communal riots decreased, big increases were seen in other categories — agrarian, sectarian and student riots and caste conflicts, data from the “Crime in India” report for 2015 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Tuesday show.

Recorded incidents of agrarian riots jumped 327 per cent from 628 in 2014 to 2,683 in 2015.

The number of people arrested increased from 3,540 to 10,353. Sectarian riots — defined as violence between sects of the same religion not considering caste conflict — showed a significant jump in incidents and convictions from a low base in 2014. Much of these incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh.

The decrease in communal riots recorded by NCRB — from 1,227 in 2014 to 789 in 2015 — however does not mesh with data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2016. Ministry data showed a slight increase from 644 incidents in 2014 to 751 in 2015.

NCRB data are based on FIRs, and there could be duplication in the number of cases registered. MHA data source is mostly concerned with the number of incidents alone.Twenty per cent of the overall 65,255 riots were reported in Bihar followed by Maharashtra (8,336) and Uttar Pradesh (6,813). Kerala tops the crime rate list, with 16.3 riot cases per lakh people, followed by Bihar (12.9) and Karnataka (10.6). More than half of the total 1,960 political incidents occurred in Kerala. Uttar Pradesh had the maximum number of caste conflicts (724) followed by Tamil Nadu (426).

Lowest in Chennai

Chennai recorded the lowest rate of total crimes among major cites (154.3 per 1 lakh population). Among all cities, only Surat (86.9), Kannur and Dhanbad had better rates.

Kerala hotbed of political riots

The “Crime in India” report for 2015 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Tuesday show that the number of people arrested for student riots (3,600) increased – more than double compared to that in 2014 (1,474). The incidents of student riots increased by 85 per cent, from 261 to 485.

Twenty per cent (13,311) of the overall 65,255 riots were reported in Bihar followed by Maharashtra (8,336) and Uttar Pradesh (6,813). Kerala tops the crime rate list, with 16.3 riot cases per lakh population followed by Bihar (12.9) and Karnataka (10.6).

Kerala, in fact, is the hotbed of political riots in the country with more than half (1,031) of the overall 1960 incidents. More than half of the student riots reported in 2015 took place in Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Uttar Pradesh had the maximum number of caste-related conflicts (724) followed by Tamil Nadu (426).

Reported cases on rape and assault on women showed only marginal change from 2014. Rape cases decreased by 5.7% while assault cases went up by merely 0.22%.