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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Ranchi crime graph goes north by Suman K Shrivastava

Ranchi crime graph goes north by Suman K Shrivastava

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published Published on Oct 31, 2011   modified Modified on Oct 31, 2011

Unsafe. Risky. Dangerous. No adjective may seem vile enough for Ranchi that has topped the district crime chart in Jharkhand with the highest number of murders, rapes and abductions to its credit.

According to the 2010 statistics released recently by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 183 persons were killed, 92 raped and 128 kidnapped in Ranchi last year.

Though the police brass find solace in the fact that the bloodthirst has gone down from 202 in 2009, they are unable to explain why incidents of rape have shot up from 63 and abduction count increased by over a dozen (see chart).

In the state, 1,698 murders took place in 2010 compared to 1,636 in 2009; 773 rape cases were lodged in 2010 against 719 in the preceding year; 978 people were reported kidnapped in 2010 compared to 827 in 2009; and 335 break-ins happened against 412 in 2009.

While Ranchi has earned the dubious distinction of being the state’s crime capital, Gumla is a close second in terms of murder and rape.

Though Dhanbad trails Ranchi in cases of abduction, it has recorded the highest number of robberies.

If NCRB figures are any indication, steel city Jamshedpur is comparatively safer with a moderate crime rate.

The police brass in Ranchi, however, underscore that the increased number of criminal cases did not reflect that the capital was not a safe place to live in. They claimed that there might be “social reasons” behind this spurt in crime, particularly in rural Ranchi, Gumla and Chaibasa.

“These places are dominated by tribals who often kill in a fit of rage or under the influence of alcohol, not to forget witch-hunts. But significantly, most of them surrender soon after committing the crime,” a senior police officer said.

“Moreover, in Gumla, Simdega and Khunti, there is age-old rivalry between Sahus and tribals. This adds up to murder numbers,” said state police spokesperson R.K. Mallick.

Tribal Research Institute director Prakash Oraon said the crime graph going north in tribal areas was a disturbing trend. “Youths are being weaned away by extremist organisations. They are doing it for money,” he said.

Mallick, who has served as SSP in Ranchi, maintained that a larger number of criminal cases was not an indicator to police failure. “It is a wrong perception. The figure is big only if all cases are registered honestly,” he said.

According to the spokesperson, Dhanbad figures low on the murder list because the coal mafia had been reined in by police in coal town.

Mallick claimed that kidnap and rape complaints were often fabricated when a girl eloped with a boy. “A girl’s parents lodge such cases when the boy who courted her refuses to marry,” he pointed out.

Incidentally, one such doctored case came to the fore at a lok adalat in Lohardaga recently. The purported victim admitted in court how her parents forced her to lodge a case against her boyfriend.

Mallick further stated that the NCRB data showed that of the total 1,689 murder victims in the state, only 231 were killed with firearms. Of these, 223 were unlicensed weapons. “Since the percentage of those killed by firearms is only 14, it implies that there is no big organised crime in the state,” he maintained.

Compared to Jharkhand, 694 of 3,362 people killed in Bihar were victims of firearms; and 684 of these weapons were not licensed ones.

The home truth, however, came from former state DGP J.B. Mahapatra. He said that Ranchi being a big district, it witnessed higher influx of interstate criminals. “Besides, the rising number of cases indicate that the police are more engaged in VIP duty than in crime control,” he said.

“Moreover, when officers are posted at various police stations based on extraneous considerations and not efficiency, the crime graph is likely to go haywire,” he added.

But Ranchi SSP Saket Kumar Singh said it was unfair to compare Ranchi with districts like Bokaro or Pakur. “Ranchi is bigger with more problems, while Gumla and Simdega have social reasons behind crimes. Again, Bokaro and Jamshedpur have industrial disputes, which we do find in Garhwa,” Singh, who has served as Bokaro’s police chief, said.


The Telegraph, 31 October, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111031/jsp/frontpage/story_14687658.jsp


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