Jammu And Kashmir Logs 15% Jump In Criminal Cases In 2020: NCRB Report

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a 15% increase in cognisable crimes in 2020 as compared to 2019, the latest report by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) revealed.

The report said that Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh) registered 29,314 (including 403 cases in Ladakh) criminal cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or under the Special and Local Laws (SLL) in 2020.

It was a 15% increase from 2019, when 25,408 crimes were registered. Year 2019 had witnessed a fall of 6% in cases than 2018 with 27,276 such incidences.

J&K has witnessed three years of lockdown with the first in 2019 when its special status under Article 370 was revoked and the region was split into two UTs – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In 2020 and 2021, J&K remained closed for months due to the Covid pandemic.

The report has maintained a separate section for the UT of Ladakh from the year 2020.

The report revealed that the crimes against women witnessed around 11% increase from 3,069 cases in 2019 to 3,414 (including nine in Ladakh) in 2020. Year 2019 had witnessed a fall of 10% in such crimes in comparison to 2018 when 3,437 cases were registered.

The crime rate against women in 2020 was 53 per lakh of the population across J&K.

The statistics show that in 2020, there were nine cases of dowry deaths, 243 rape cases (with 247 victims including three girls), 349 cases of cruelty against women by their husbands or relatives, 1,639 cases of assault on women and 1,744 cases of assault on women with intention to outrage their modesty.

The report also showed that the J&K registered 31 stalking cases, 15 incidents of sexual harassment with three cases of sexual harassment at work in 2020.

The murder cases saw an increase of 25% with 149 cases in 2020 as against 119 in 2019.

There were 487 cases of attempt to murder, 35 cases of abetment of suicide and 24 cases of abetment of suicide of women in 2020. The crimes against children also witnessed an increase of around 29% with 606 incidents in 2020 in comparison to 470 and 473 cases each in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Suicide cases were also a significant part of the crime statistics, including 472 incidences of attempt to commit suicide in 2020.

The kidnapping and abductions cases have been witnessing a decline for the past three years in J&K. The region also recorded 10 cases of crimes related to offences against the state besides two cases of sedition in 2020. (Agencies)