Maharashtra: Police arrest four persons for killing truck driver in Nagpur's Kalmna market

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Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur has arrested four persons for allegedly killing a 29-year-old truck driver near Kalmna market area.

Two others were seriously injured in the incident on Tuesday morning, an official said, adding that the clash was a fallout of an altercation between two groups of truck drivers and cleaners.

Shivraj alias Amit Azgar Shrichand Kumar and two others were attacked with iron rods, resulting in the death of Kumar, newswire PTI reported quoting an official said.

An FIR was registered for murder and four suspects were nabbed, he said, adding that further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, 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 Maharashtra. The statistics, from the 70th edition of the NCRB's annual report, highlight a worrisome surge in criminal incidents during 2022.

The report was released earlier this month.

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.

Also read: Crime news: Man kills wife, father-in-law and two brothers-in-law in a fit of rage in Maharashtra's Yavatmal

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).

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). (With inputs from PTI)