Mumbai and Maharashtra report surge in crimes against women and children, NCRB data reveals

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In a concerning trend, recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed an increase in cases of crimes against women and children in the financial capital city Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra. The statistics, from the 70th edition of the NCRB's annual report, highlight a worrisome surge in criminal incidents during 2022.

Crime against women in Mumbai

Mumbai witnessed a rise in cases of crimes against women, with a total of 6,176 cases registered in 2022 compared to 2021's 5,543 cases. The rate of total crime against women stood at 72.5 per cent.

The majority of these cases were filed under 'Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives,' constituting 32.6 percent of the reported incidents. Although the city has 78.6 percent chargesheet rate, concerns linger over the safety of women in the metropolis.

Crime against women in Maharashtra

On a broader scale, Maharashtra recorded 45,331 cases of crimes against women in 2022, reflecting an 80.6 percent chargesheet rate. Disturbingly, the chargesheet rate for the state is higher than the national average, raising questions about the efficiency of the criminal justice system in dealing with such cases. The prevalent crime categories in the state were 'Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives' (31.4 percent) and 'Kidnapping and Abduction of Women' (19.2 percent).

Crimes against children

The NCRB data also shed light on an alarming increase in crimes against children in both Mumbai and Maharashtra. The total number of cases against children in Mumbai reached 3,178 in 2022, as against 2,762 in 2021 and 2,248 in 2020. The predominant crime heads were 'Kidnapping and Abduction' (56.3 percent) and offenses under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (32.2 percent).

Also read: Mumbai crime news: Teacher molests 16-year-old student at coaching class in Sion; arrested

Juveniles in conflict with the law

While there was a slight decline in the number of crimes committed by juveniles in Maharashtra, with 4,406 cases in 2022 compared to 4,554in 2021, the report indicates persistent challenges. A concerning aspect is that the majority of juveniles apprehended in connection with IPC and Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes fall within the age group of 16 to 18 years, constituting 79.3 percent of the cases.

Overall, cases of crime against women have spiked with an increase of 4 per cent seen in States and Union territories while an increase of 12.3 percent was recorded in 19 Metro cities in 2022 over the preceeding year.

In the 19 Metropolitan cities with population above two million (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune and Surat) a total of 48,755 cases of crime against women were registered during 2022, showing an increase of 12.3 per cent over 2021 (43,414 cases).