“Assam has retained the top spot in recording the most violent crimes in the country followed consistently by Delhi except in 2020,” the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2021 has revealed.
The statistics also showed that Assam has maintained the trend of recording an increase in such crimes after a dip in the previous year.
“But the crime rate of 76.6 cases per one lakh population – a little more than the 73.7 cases in 2020 – does not give the complete picture,” Assam police officers said. They attributed the figure to the high reporting and registration of cases, especially in crimes against women.
An analysis of NCRB data since 2017 showed that Assam led all the States and Union Territories across the country with 78.6 cases of violent crimes per one lakh people followed by Delhi (60.6) and West Bengal (51.4). The number of violent cases in Assam and Delhi increased in 2018 to 86.4 and 63.6 while Tripura dislodged West Bengal to take the third spot with 62 cases.
These three States maintained their positions in 2019 but recorded a dip in the violent cases – 83.4 in Assam, 58.2 in Delhi and 53.6 in Tripura.
In 2021, West Bengal ended up second with 51.2 cases behind Assam’s 73.7 with Delhi taking the third spot with 49.2 cases. Delhi and West Bengal interchanged places in 2021 with 57 and 48.7 cases per one lakh population respectively.
Crime against women
According to the NCRB data for 2021, Assam had 168.3 cases of crime against women per one lakh people, the highest in India. Delhi came second with 147.6 and Odisha third with 137.8.
The data did not convey anything new. Assam has consistently taken the top spot in crimes against women. The rate was 143.2 in 2017, 166 in 2018, 155 in 2019 and 154.3 in 2020.
“The main reason why we have had a high rate of crime is that we do not hesitate in registering cases of any kind of crime, especially those against women who can walk in any time to register a case of domestic violence, sexual harassment, physical abuse or any other type of crime,” A.Y.V. Krishna, the Additional Director-General of Police (CID) told The Hindu.
“More than 300 police stations have a women’s help desk with a dedicate officer in charge and qualified counsellors engaged by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences with whom the Assam police signed a memorandum of understanding,” he said.
“One has to also note that the closure rate of cases in Assam after thorough investigation is also high and not all registered cases are charge-sheeted (42.4 per one lakh people in 2021 compared to 91.8 cases in Andaman & Nicobar Islands with crime rate of 21.9). This is because we do not discourage the complainants to come forward,” Mr. Krishna said.
The total cases of crime against women registered in Assam in 2021 was 29,046, a 10.22% increase from 2020 when the State recorded 26,352 cases. The figure in 2019 was 30,025, a jump from 27,687 in 2018.
In 2021, Assam recorded 46 instances of murder with rape or gang-rape, two behind topper Uttar Pradesh. This was almost double from the 26 cases in 2020.
The State recorded 1,835 cases of rape in 2021 compared to 1,658 cases in 2020. There were 563 cases of attempted rape and 4,511 cases of assault with intention of outraging modesty in 2021. Assam recorded nine cases of acid attack on women in 2021, up from two in 2020.
The State also recorded 432 cases of cybercrimes targeting women, which included publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material. It is the second highest in the country after Odisha, which recorded 565 cases.
Of the total cases of crime against women in the State, 12,950 were of cruelty by husband or his relatives. The State recorded 5,866 cases of kidnapping and abduction of women, 3,362 of them to compel for marriage.
The State recorded 1,948 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of which 1,317 were of child rape, 424 cases of sexual assault and 158 of sexual harassment. The total number of cases under this Act in 2020 was 1,496. On the brighter side, Assam did not record any cases of infanticide or foeticide.
Waning insurgency
Internal security experts said secessionism, violent movements such as the Assam Agitation of 1979-85 and ethnic and communal conflicts largely contributed to the State’s high crime rate earlier.
“Insurgency is no longer a factor and a developing Assam today is experiencing the problems similar to the other States. But the State did and continues to have specific issues such as witch-hunting and impulsive violence leading to deaths, often in the tea-growing belt,” Mukesh Sahay, the State’s former DGP said.
A cause of concern among social activists is the increasing number of dowry deaths, which stood at 198 in 2021, up from 148 in 2020. Such cases were few and far between even a decade ago.
According to the 2021 NCRB data, Assam had 1,192 cases of murder, four of them attributed to extremism or insurgency. The motive of murder in 227 cases was land/property or family dispute while 26 cases were because of romantic affairs and six of class conflicts. The motive behind most cases (536) was unspecified.
Of the total of 26,933 violent cases recorded in Assam, 7,580 were of kidnapping, 1,885 of robbery and 1,288 of attempt to commit murder.
