At a time when the Aam Aadmi Party was making law and order in the national capital a big issue in the elections, the Delhi Police released the crime rate figures on Saturday, showcasing that the situation was improving in the national capital.
According to the data of Delhi Police, apart from murder, robbery, cases of rape and molestation have also decreased as compared to 2023. While 506 murder cases were registered in 2023, it reduced to 504 in 2024. The cases of robbery decreased from 1654 in 2023 to 1510 in 2024. According to the police, the cases of molestation have also reduced. While 2345 cases of molestation were registered in 2023, they reduced to 2037 in 2024. Not only this, according to police data, 2141 cases of rape were registered in 2023, while 2076 cases were registered in 2024.
The data for some crimes remained unchanged, as cases of dacoity stood at 29 in both 2023 and 2024, while 13 cases of kidnapping for ransom were reported in both years. However, areas of concern persist, as the city recorded an uptick in fatal accidents and burglaries. Fatal accidents rose to 1,504 in 2024 from 1,432 in 2023, while number of burglaries surged past 29,000, marking an increase of over 400 cases from the previous year.
Last month, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal stepped up his attack on the BJP-led central government over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Delhi and sought a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue. In a letter to Shah, the former Delhi chief minister claimed that the city was being called the country's "crime capital" as he cited the recent bomb threats to numerous schools as well as the IGI airport. The letter comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls scheduled to be held in February 5, 2025. Crimes against women are rising, extortion gangs are active everywhere, drug mafia is spreading across the city and people are harassed by mobile phone and chain snatching incidents, he claimed.
Due to these bomb threats, children and their parents in Delhi are living in constant fear. Have you ever thought about the children and their parents when the schools are vacated and the students are sent back home, he asked Shah. He said Delhi's law and order was under the Centre and emphasised that Shah needed to act and cooperate to immediately rectify the situation. Among the 19 metro cities, Delhi is the number one in terms of crimes against women and murders. Drug-related crimes registered a 350 per cent rise since 2019, an average of three women are raped every day and businesspersons regularly receive extortion calls, Kejriwal claimed.