Jammu-Kashmir Worst Affected By Terrorist Activities in 2020: NCRB Report
356 of the 387 terrorist crimes committed last year were reported from JK only
On Wednesday, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its report on Crime in India 2020. Reports indicate that registration of criminal cases increased by 28% in 2020 over 2019.
Terrorism in JK
In the category 'crimes committed by anti-national elements' (added in 2019), the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (JK) was the worst affected by terrorist activities in 2020. UT reported 27 murders, 119 cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and 7 cases under 'crime against the state.' 356 of the 387 terrorist crimes have been reported in JK alone.
Northeast Insurgency
Northeast insurgents reported 149 UAPA cases in Manipur, while left-wing extremists claimed 62 murders in Chhattisgarh and 42 cases under UAPA in Jharkhand. Kerala also reported 12 UAPA cases under the same category. Jihadi terrorism claimed the lives of 11 civilians and 14 defense personnel, while left-wing extremism claimed the lives of 60 civilians and 37 defense personnel, the report notes.
A surge in fake news
According to the report, the number of cases against fake news increased by 214%. In the pandemic year, 1527 cases were reported, while 486 were reported in 2019. State-wise, Telangana topped the category with 273 cases, followed by Tamilnadu 188.
Crime Against Women
The number of crimes against women decreased from 4,05,326 in 2019 to 3,78,236 in 2020. With a total of 28,046 (an average of 77 cases per day) rape cases in 2020, Rajasthan recorded the maximum while UP came second. The majority of cases under crime against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives’ (30.0%) followed by ‘Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty’ (23.0%), ‘Kidnapping & Abduction of Women’ (16.8%) and ‘Rape’ (7.5%). In 2020, the crime rate per lakh women population decreased to 56.5 from 62.3 in 2019.
Crime Against Backward Castes
In total, 50,291 crimes were committed against Scheduled Castes (an increase of 9.4% over 2019) and 8,272 crimes were committed against Scheduled Tribes (an increase of 9.3% over 2019), according to the report.
An increase in the overall crime rate
Uttar Pradesh registered the most murder cases (3,779) out of the 29,193 registered in 2020. The next two states were Bihar (3,150) and Maharashtra (2,163), while Delhi reported 472 cases. UP also recorded the highest number of kidnappings and abductions. In India, the crime rate per lakh population was 487.8 in 2020, increasing from 385.5 in 2019.
Decrease in Traditional Crime
There was a significant increase in the number of cases registered under Disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant (Section 188 of the IPC), from 29,469 cases in 2019 to 6,12,179 cases in 2020. The majority of these cases involve violations of Covid-19 norms. As a result, there has been a decrease of about two lakh cases of traditional crimes, the report noted.
