• State still reclaims dubious top spot
• Rates more than three times the All-India average
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | May 11
Despite recording its lowest number of extortion cases in over a decade, Nagaland has once again emerged with the highest extortion crime rate in India in 2024, reclaiming a position it briefly lost the previous year, according to the latest Crime in India 2024 report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Nagaland recorded 72 extortion cases in 2024 under Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 384–389 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)—the lowest annual figure for the State since at least 2014. Of the total cases, 37 were registered under IPC provisions and 35 under BNS, following the transition to the new criminal law framework in July 2024. The number of victims stood at 72, including one cyber-related extortion case.
Despite the fall in absolute numbers, Nagaland continued to feature prominently in national rankings. The State recorded an extortion crime rate of 3.2 cases per lakh population, the highest among all States and Union Territories and more than three times the national average of 0.9.
Manipur followed with a crime rate of 2.7, while Arunachal Pradesh recorded 2.2. Across India, a total of 12,119 extortion cases involving 12,226 victims were registered in 2024.
Declining trend after 2019 peak
A review of NCRB data over the past eleven years (2014–2024) shows that extortion in Nagaland, though fluctuating, has been on a broader downward trend after peaking in 2019.
Between 2014 and 2017, the State recorded between 129 and 156 cases annually, with the crime rate ranging from 5.5 to 6.6. The numbers rose sharply in 2018 and 2019, when cases climbed to 192 and 201 respectively, pushing the crime rate to 8.0 and 9.3, the highest recorded during the period.
Since then, the trend has steadily declined. Cases fell to 131 in 2020, rose briefly to 159 in 2021, and then dropped to 100 in 2022, 89 in 2023, and 72 in 2024. Compared to the 2019 peak, extortion cases in Nagaland have declined by nearly 64% over five years.
Nagaland had recorded the highest extortion crime rate in the country for nearly eight consecutive years before being overtaken by Manipur in 2023. In 2024, however, the State returned to the top of the national chart despite the lower number of cases.
Incidentally, a section in the report “Crimes by North-East Insurgents (State/UT-wise) – 2024” indicated that no extortion cases were related with them in Nagaland and one 3 cases under Arms Act were registered under the section. A total of Unlicensed37 and 172Ammunition were recovered from them.
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