An increase in the number of reported crimes can also point to greater reporting, increased awareness, and a growing willingness to approach the police.
Published Jan 01, 2026 | 12:27 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 01, 2026 | 12:27 PM
Crime. (iStock)
Synopsis: Across Hyderabad, 2025 witnessed a drop in some crimes, while others saw an increase. While police teams conducted enforcement drives and awareness programmes, some crimes persisted. However, an increase in the number of reported crimes can also point to greater reporting, increased awareness, and a growing willingness to approach the police.
In October 2025, teams of Telangana police fanned out across parts of Cyberabad for one whole week, conducting raids each night. By the end of the operation, they apprehended 10 sex workers and one transgender person, and rescued one victim.
The raids were a part of the Cyberabad Anti-Human Trafficking Unit’s enforcement, according to a press note by the Women and Children Safety Wing.
Alongside the arrests, SHE teams — a division of Telangana Police for enhanced safety and security of women — carried out decoy operations in public spaces. They arrested men misbehaving with women.
The raid marked not an isolated action, but a part of the commissionerate’s enforcement. According to data from Hyderabad’s three commissionerates (now four) — Hyderabad City, Cyberabad and Rachakonda — crime figures sit next to prevention efforts.
In Rachakonda, police recorded 73 murders in 2025. While 18 victims were women, several of these cases unfolded inside homes.
In Meerpet, a domestic quarrel ended with a wife being strangled by her husband. He dismembered her, boiled parts of her body and burned what remained. Later, he disposed of everything in the drains. Police traced his movements through CCTV footage.
In another case in Boduppal, a 27-year-old man strangled his pregnant wife. Disputes about dowry demands and character suspicions drove him to it. She was also dismembered and disposed of in the Musi River. The police arrested him and registered a case, charging him with murder and destruction of evidence.
These cases sit alongside trends in Rachakonda’s crime statistics. Between 2024 and 2025, the commisionerate reported that dowry murders doubled from three to six. However, dowry deaths declined from 18 to 12.
Cases of abetment to suicide fell from 61 to 52. Domestic violence complaints dropped sharply, from 1,222 to 782. Rape cases declined from 384 to 330. This contributes to an overall 25 percent reduction in crimes against women.
However, this reduction does not reflect across all categories. Kidnapping, molestation and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases rose by over 600 during the same period, an increase of four percent.
In Cyberabad, crimes against women account for nine percent of all cases in 2025, up from eight percent the previous year. Dowry harassment and cruelty in marriage emerged as the sixth largest contributor to crime trends, with 1,314 reported cases.
Police records showed that in 326 rape cases, the accused are most often known to the victim. Family members and friends were the accused in 221 cases, and neighbours in 35 cases. Others made up 70. Only four cases were recorded as false complaints.
Ironically, some of these crimes occurred in public spaces. In Pahadishareef, a foreign national who accepted a ride from a group of men was taken to a secluded location. They raped her at knifepoint inside a car. She managed to escape. Investigators later relied on medical reports, forensic findings, CCTV footage, and digital transaction records to support her account.
The year also saw convictions in a few older cases. A case of a couple kidnapping a minor girl, who was sexually assaulted and forced into prostitution, reached its conclusion after they were convicted under the IPC and POCSO Act.
In another case, a husband and his mother were convicted of continued dowry harassment, which led a pregnant woman to die by suicide.
Police teams in Hyderabad also conducted awareness programmes. Cyberabad conducts 3,887 awareness programmes reaching over 1.7 lakh people. SHE Teams carried out 135 decoy operations and nabbed 55 individuals in public indecency cases.
Officers visited schools, colleges, and community centres. They explain laws, share helpline numbers and encourage reporting.
The October 2025 raids in Cyberabad demonstrated this approach. Officers targeted trafficking networks by conducting operations across multiple nights. They coordinated between units and rescued victims while apprehending the accused.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit also worked alongside SHE Teams. While one targeted organised crime, the other addressed harassment in public spaces.
Officers position themselves in areas where complaints concentrate. They catch offenders in the act. They build cases with evidence collected during operations.
Rising numbers, particularly in crimes against women, are often seen only as indicators of an unsafe society. However, they can also point to greater reporting, increased awareness and a growing willingness to approach the police.
The 25 percent reduction in crimes against women in Rachakonda comes alongside a four percent increase in kidnapping, molestation and POCSO cases.
Domestic violence complaints dropped from 1,222 to 782 in Rachakonda. This decline of 440 cases represents either improved safety or decreased reporting. Rape cases fell from 384 to 330. Yet, kidnapping, molestation and POCSO cases rose by over 600.
The pattern suggests victims feel safer reporting certain crimes. POCSO cases, which involve children, may see increased reporting due to awareness campaigns in schools and communities. Kidnapping and molestation cases rising by four percent could reflect better documentation rather than increased incidence.
Dowry murders doubled from three to six, while dowry deaths declined from 18 to 12, revealing how classification shapes statistics. The distinction between murder and death matters in legal terms, but both stem from the same crime: dowry demands.
The Meerpet case demonstrated how evidence traces crime: CCTV footage captured the husband’s movements, officers reconstructed his actions and found remains in drains. They built a case that led to an arrest.
The Boduppal case followed similar investigation patterns. After a pregnant woman disappeared, officers launched a search operation and found body parts in the Musi River. They trace the husband. They arrest him for murder and destruction of evidence.
However, arrests do not always lead to convictions. Cases take years to reach courts. Evidence must survive scrutiny. Witnesses must testify. In the cases that concluded in 2025, courts delivered life sentences. These represent crimes from previous years finally getting justice.
The kidnapping case of the minor mentioned above took time to build. The victim’s testimony mattered. Medical evidence supported her account. Courts examined all aspects before delivering the sentence.
Despite enforcement efforts, certain crimes persist. Dowry-related violence continues. The doubling of dowry murders from three to six in Rachakonda showed that crime adapts. Families disguise murders; they stage accidents and create false narratives.
The Meerpet murder case demonstrates the lengths offenders go to hide evidence. Only CCTV footage and investigation revealed the crime.
Crimes by known persons dominate statistics. Of 326 rape cases, 221 involve family members and friends. This suggests most violence against women happens within trusted circles. Victims know their attackers. They live with them, work with them and trust them.
Victims facing violence from people they know make prevention harder. It makes reporting more difficult. It makes justice more complicated.
The data from 2025 offers no simple conclusion. Some crimes declined while others rose. Some victims reported, and a few others stay silent. Some offenders get caught. Others escape.
The 25 percent reduction in crimes against women in Rachakonda suggests progress. However, the four percent increase in kidnapping, molestation and POCSO cases suggests challenges remain. The doubling of dowry murders while dowry deaths decline shows how crime shifts categories.
Even while the police conduct more awareness programmes, carry out more decoy operations, arrest more accused and rescue more victims, crimes continue.
Murders happen inside homes. Rapes occur among known persons. Trafficking networks operate despite raids.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
