Crime Against Women in India Up by 4%: NCRB Report 2023

New Delhi: The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) annual report has revealed a distressing surge of 4% in crimes against women in India throughout 2022. This includes cases of cruelty by husbands and relatives, abductions, assaults, and rapes.

The NCRB report detailed a substantial escalation in reported crimes against women, soaring from 3,71,503 cases in 2020 to 4,45,256 cases in 2022. Compared to 2021's 4,28,278 cases, the 2022 statistics marked a troubling increase.

The report highlighted that a significant proportion of crimes against women under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) involved 'Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives' (31.4%), 'Kidnapping and Abduction of Women' (19.2%), 'Assault on Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty' (18.7%), and 'Rape' (7.1%). The crime rate per lakh women population rose to 66.4 in 2022 from 64.5 in 2021.

Notably, the country registered 13,479 cases under the Dowry Prohibition Act, with over 1,40,000 cases categorised under 'Cruelty by Husband or His Relatives' (Sec. 498 A IPC).

Based on data gathered from 36 states, Union territories, and central agencies, the report titled "Crime in India 2022" provides critical insights for lawmakers, governments, and stakeholders involved in policy formulation and analysis.

However, the release of the NCRB report faced a significant delay of at least five months. Traditionally published by July or August annually, this year’s report became public only recently.

The report’s findings extended beyond crimes against women, indicating a surge in crimes against children, senior citizens, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) by 8.7%, 9.3%, 13.1%, and 14.3%, respectively. Additionally, economic offenses saw an 11.1% rise, corruption surged by 10.5%, and cybercrimes increased by a staggering 24.4% in 2022.

Moreover, concerning trends were observed in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Delhi recorded 14,158 cases of crimes against women, Mumbai saw 6,176 cases with a high 80.6% chargesheet rate, while Bengaluru reported 3,924 cases with a 74.2% chargesheet rate.

Uttar Pradesh registered the highest number of 65,743 cases of crimes against women under IPC and Special and Local Laws (SLL), Maharashtra recorded 45,331 cases, and Rajasthan reported 45,058 cases, each with varying chargesheet rates.

The report’s revelations underscore the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address the alarming increase in crimes against vulnerable demographics across the nation.