Crime in Covid time

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2020 assumes significance as it is a reflection of the crime rate of the time when the country was under a pandemic-induced lockdown for almost three months, followed by curbs imposed by the states. This partly explains the dip in the usual IPC cases in comparison with 2019. But for the same reason, there was an overall jump of 28 per cent cases, as curfew or Covid protocol violations saw thousands being booked across the country. So also there was an uptick in murders, suicides and domestic violence cases that were attributed to the forced grounding of people at homes or the depletion of families’ resources due to Covid-19 or the loss of lives of loved ones and jobs during this period.

Interestingly, the survey has introduced the column of charge-sheeting to better indicate the police performance in dealing with the cases registered, No doubt, strict enforcement of rules and efficient follow-up of cases has a direct bearing on building confidence among the citizens to report crime as also acting as a strong deterrent for criminals. Worrisomely, Haryana fares poorly on this score, necessitating introspection. Against the national average of 82.5 per cent chargesheeting rate, Haryana’s 39.7 per cent puts it among the bottom three states. For a state that has one of the highest crime rates in India, this gaping hole in the investigation process — the pivot on which delivery of justice rests — is a sad commentary on its law and order. The NCRB-2020 figures pointing to Haryana recording the most number of cases of abetment to suicide and Dalit murders, and the second highest dowry deaths corroborate the gravity of the situation.

Neighbouring Punjab, though commendably better placed with

82 per cent chargesheeting rate, continues to be bogged down by the drug menace. The 40 per cent decline in FIRs under the NDPS Act is offset by the fact that the state still has the second highest number of cases, after UP. That the amount of heroin seized surpassed the previous year’s haul shows that it remains a major transit point for drug traffickers.