Maharashtra sees 'significant' drop in serious crimes during coronavirus lockdown

The Maharashtra Police have observed a "significant" drop in the number of serious offences, including murder, rape, dacoity and kidnapping, during the lockdown as compared to the corresponding period last year.
This has come to light in the data compiled by the state police department, an official said on Saturday.

The data collected so far is only for the months of March and April. The statistics for the month of May is being collected, he said.

"The data has revealed that during the lockdown, there was a slump in the number of major offences like murder, attempt to murder, rape, molestation, dacoity, robbery and thefts," he said.

During the lockdown, the police have been on the streets round-the-clock to ensure strict implementation of lockdown, the official said.

"The presence of police personnel nearby and the fear of contracting the deadly infection might have brought such serious crimes under control during this period, he added.

The first phase of the nation-wide lockdown came into force from March 25. Although the Maharashtra government has now extended the lockdown till June 30, it has relaxed several restrictions.

According to the official, the total number of serious offences registered in March this year was 21,107 as against the 23,859 recorded during the same period last year.

As compared to the data of the same month in 2019, there is a drop in the number of cases of murder by 37, rape by 59, molestation by 65, robbery 160 and theft by 2,290 registered across various police stations, he said.

Besides that, there were 1,024 cases of kidnapping registered in March 2019 and its number dropped to 842 this year.

"There were 14,559 offences registered in April 2020, whereas this figure was 22,020 last year in the same month," the official said.

There were 171 cases of murder registered in April last year, whereas this figure was 94 this year. The number of rape cases reported in April last year was 447 and this year''s figure was 165, he added.

There tally of molestation cases was 1,107 last year, which came down to 505 this year in April.

Similarly, as compared to the 991 cases of kidnapping registered at various police stations in April 2019, the count dropped to 217 this year.

Last year, a total of 7,281 cases of theft were registered in April, but this year the number came down by 5,744 cases, as only 1,537 offences were recorded, he said.

However, there was a rise in the number of violation of prohibitory orders in April this year as compared to the corresponding period last year. While 7,731 such offences had been registered in April last year, the tally reached 9,328 this year, the official said.