District reports fewer rape and murder but ‘extortion’ rises
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 17
By any conservative assumption, the year 2018 has been relatively quiet for Dimapur as opposed to the year(s) before without any incidents in public memory that would have otherwise disturbed peace in general.
Crime statistics of the district for the year released by the Dimapur police on the otherhand would somewhat dampen this perceived notion of calm.
Clearly the most happening place in Nagaland in terms of commerce, medical facilities, education and other opportunities, Dimapur also happens to be a district which records the most number of crimes in the state.
As of December 17, 2018, the district police have on record a total of 689 cases registered under various crime heads of the IPC. While the figure would appear relatively low, there has been an increase of a little over a hundred from the 2017 total.
The total number of cases registered in the district in 2017 stood at 575.
This year’s figure is however lesser than what was recorded in 2016 when the district registered a total of 700 cases. Year 2016 to date has been the year with the highest number of cases registered in the district since 2013.
Extortion, Kidnapping, Theft, NLTP
Going by this year’s data, businesses continue to be plagued by unsolicited monetary demands with many as 135 ‘Extortion’ cases registered. It is a two-fold increase from the 2017 figure of 81 cases.
According to the police, the figure is clearly higher than 2017’s. However “over 200 persons were arrested during the year in extortion-related complaints,” defended an officer.
Out of the total 689 cases, ‘Theft’ led the pack with as many as 261 registered under the head. It was followed by ‘Extortion’ in second place and Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition (NLTP) Act offences in third with a total of 115 cases.
‘Kidnapping & Abduction’ followed in fourth place with a total of 65 cases. On this, the officer said that almost a third of this total comprised “missing and eloping” reports. “Such cases mostly get clubbed under ‘Kidnapping & Abduction,” he said, while adding that actual kidnapping and abduction for ransom that got reported was less than 10. The number of complaints registered under this crime head in 2017 stood at 47.
Burglary and cheating shared 5th place with 40 cases registered under each head. The figure for Counterfeiting and Forgery stood at 3 and 13, respectively.
Rape, murder, attempt to murder, rash driving
While other crimes increased, incidence of rape and murder showed a decline.
As per the data, 2 rape cases have been registered this year as on December 17. It was 8 in 2017 and 12 in 2016, 12 in 2015, 13 in 2014 and 10 in 2013. The data further indicated 5 cases under ‘Assault on women’ and 2 under ‘Cruelty by husband or his relatives’.
Number of murder cases registered declined from 18 in 2017 to 15 as on December 17, 2018. This year’s figure is still higher than what was recorded in 2016 wherein a total of 10 murder cases were registered. The highest number of murder cases registered in one year over the past 5 years was in 2013 when 37 cases were registered in total.
Attempt to murder declined from 21 in 2017 to 15 this year. “Nil” was the remark for this year under the head “Culpable homicide not amounting to murder” as was in 2017.
While cases of rash driving and road accidents are almost daily occurrences, the figure provided under this head was surprisingly low. As per the data, only 12 cases of rash driving have been registered so far this year.
Special and local laws
In addition to the cognisable offences under the IPC, a total of 230 cases have been registered so far under various ‘Special and Local Laws’. As mentioned above, NLPT Act offences led with 115 registered cases that included the confiscation of over 1.2 lakh bottles of IMFL together with the arrest of 147 offenders.
There were 36 cases registered under the Arms Act, 4 under Explosive Substance Act, 19 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and 18 under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
11 cases were registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 6 under the Gambling Act and “Nil” was remark under the Essential Commodities Act.
