As crimes against women rise in Bengaluru, police point to better reportage

He added, “A lot of awareness has been created. Earlier, people would not come forward to file complaints due to social stigma and fear. They now seemed to have outlived their fears and are coming forward to report crimes. Thanks to the Supreme Court guidelines after the Nirbhaya case, directing not to reveal the identities of the victims. The press and the media also played a pivotal role in bringing this trend.”

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Crimes against women and children

The city of Bengaluru witnessed a significant increase in crime against women in 2023, with the city police registering 3,260 cases, including 1,135 related to molestation, the official data showed. The police attribute the rise to enhanced awareness, initiative of filing suo-moto cases, and the registration of e-FIRs, among other factors for this increased reportage.

According to the data, the city police registered 2,020 FIRs related to crime against women in 2021, 2,630 FIRs in 2022, and 3,260 FIRs in 2023. Out of the total cases of crime against women reported last year, the city police were successful in detecting 3,121 cases.

In 2023, the police registered 176 cases of rape, 1,135 cases of molestation, 60 cases related to outraging the modesty of women, 25 cases related to dowry death, 696 cases related to cruelty by husband or relatives of the husband, 161 cases of immoral trafficking acts, and 1,007 cases related to the dowry prohibition act.

The city also saw an increase in cases of crime against children in 2023, with the police registering 631 cases, out of which 560 were registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences) Act. The police have succeeded in detecting 588 cases out of the 631 cases, the data showed.

A senior police officer said that in the majority of rape cases and POCSO cases, the accused were either known to the victim, their relative, or acquaintances or friends who had lured the victims and committed the crimes. “In only very few cases, the accused happens to be an unknown stranger who had committed the sexual assault. However, almost all the crimes that comes under the ‘heinous’ category, including murders, have been detected by the city police.”

The officer added, “Regarding murders, it becomes a tedious task and challenge for the police to detect murder for gain, but other murders — due to rivalry, supari killing, property disputes, love angle etc — are quite easily detectable.”

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Other crimes in Bengaluru

In 2023, the city also witnessed an increase in other crimes compared to the previous two years, with the police registering 205 cases of murder, 153 cases of chain snatching, 673 cases of robbery, 1,692 cases of house-break thefts, and 5,909 cases of motor vehicle thefts, according to the data shared by the police.

Last year, Bengaluru saw an increase in gambling cases, with the police registering 639 cases compared to the previous two years. 588 and 622 gambling cases were registered in 2021 and 2022, respectively, the data showed.

The city also reported 2,358 suicides and 5,848 accidental deaths last year due to electrocution, drowning, burning, fall from height, and poisoning, among others.

The data also stated that 6,006 people were reported missing in Bengaluru in 2023. Out of these, the police succeeded in tracing 5,026 people, while 1,189 kidnapping cases were registered. Out of this, a further 981 cases were detected, the data revealed.

Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the Bengaluru Police registered 3,443 cases, seized 5,387 kg drugs worth ₹103.22 crore, and arrested 4,399 persons in 2023, the data showed.

Also Read: Hyderabad witnessed a 2% increase in crimes in 2023

Cybercrimes in Bengaluru

According to the data made public by the Bengaluru City Police, cybercrimes shot up by a whopping 77 percent in 2023 in Bengaluru compared to the previous calendar year, with the police registering 17,623 cases. As many as 6,422 cybercrime cases were reported in Bengaluru in 2021 and 9,940 in 2022, showed the data shared by the police.

However, out of the 17,623 cases reported in 2023, the city police could detect only 1,271, the data revealed.

A senior police officer said that cybercrimes have been the biggest challenge for the city police, and that such cases are now being registered at all police stations across the city, leading to a spike in the number of cases.

“Even complaints from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and complaints received on 112 (all-in-one emergency helpline number) get converted into FIRs. The Bengaluru Police have also started an awareness campaign by giving cyber tips to members of the general public through their social media accounts,” he said.

When asked about the low detection rate of cybercrime cases, the officer said, “In many cases, what happens is that we need to depend on service providers, banks, global tech firms, and social media platforms, and there has been delay on their part in sharing relevant information required for investigation purposes and further probing. In many cases, we have seen these platforms refuse to share certain details, citing their company policies, which indeed emerge as the biggest hurdle in taking the probe forward.”