The number of criminal cases registered in Gurugram has dwindled by 57% in the first week of lockdown. However, the drop is mostly due to decrease in traditional crime cases and there is no let up in cyber crime cases.
The analysis of crime cases registered from March 25-31 this year has revealed that the number of such cases has dropped to 171 from 396 for the corresponding period last year.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Subhash Boken said that most of the cases registered during the said period are for violation of lockdown provisions under Section 188 of the IPC and for declaration of proclaimed offenders by the court in cheque bounce cases under Section 174 of the IPC, and the actual fall in the crime cases could be around 80%.
Only two cases of theft were reported on Monday compared to 40-50 cases per day earlier, Mr. Boken said.
Gurugram Police Commissioner Muhammad Akil had also referred to the drop in crime cases in a press conference the previous month saying that the number of cases registered had dropped to almost 10-15% since the lockdown.
Though the number of crime cases under all heads has gone down considerably, the steepest fall has been witnessed in cases registered under the Special and Local Laws, including Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Gambling Act.
Steep fall
Compared to the corresponding period last year, the number of crime cases under these various laws has gone down from 111 to just five, a decline of around 95%. Similarly, only four cases of crime against women have been registered during the first week of lockdown compared to 17 for the corresponding period last year.
Only one case has been registered under the Crime Against Property category, including snatching, robbery, burglary, whereas 17 cases were registered the previous year for the corresponding period.
Cases of murder, causing hurt and suicide, broadly categorised as Crimes Again Persons, have also gone down from 38 to 14.
The cases of vehicle theft, which account for a huge share in the total crime cases, have registered a drop of 91%. While 85 cases of vehicle theft were reported from March 25-31 last year, only four have been reported this year during the period.