Bhubaneswar: Notwithstanding the accolades for the smooth conduct of Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup and novel initiatives to ensure the safety of denizens, the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack saw a 5 per cent rise in crime in 2018 compared to the triennial average (TA) reported in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Briefing mediapersons on the yearly performance of the Commissionerate Police, Twin City Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty on Wednesday said that a total of 11,530 cases were lodged in 2018.
Releasing the statistics of major crimes in both Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Urban Police Districts (UPDs) under the Commissionerate Police, Mohanty said the Odisha capital witnessed 26.6 per cent rise in rape cases while it was 31.3 per cent in Cuttack. The perpetrators in most cases were either lovers with whom a girl had eloped or someone close to the survivor’s family, he said.
Similarly, there has been an increase in murder, dacoity, robbery and road accidents, averaging 7.5, 25, 5.8 and 8.9 per cent respectively, Mohanty said, while attributing these to rising population, urbanisation and employment crisis.
Police, however, managed to bring down instances of burglary, theft, swindling and riots. “In Bhubaneswar, 7219 cases have been registered in 2018 against the TA of 7151, so there’s an increase in crime rate by 0.9%. But if we consider the cases under Commissionerate Police, which includes Cuttack, the crime rate goes up by 5% as 11,530 cases were registered in toto against the TA of 10,972,” the Police Commissioner said.
Comparing Odisha’s average with the national average, he said, “We live in a safer city and in a safer state. All India statistics reveal that 340 crimes occur per one lakh population, which is around 250-260 here in Odisha. While the average in urban areas outside is somewhere around 720 per one lakh people, it is around 500 in India.”
Mohanty further said that Commissionerate Police had received as many as 15,64,125 phone calls last year from PCR (dial 100). “Of those, bodies have been recovered on 66 occasions and 2147 persons have been rescued in a critical condition,” he said. Highlighting a few other cases, the Police Commissioner said that 270 distressed people were rescued from shelter homes, 412 drunken persons shifted to hospitals and senior citizens and women were rescued on 255 occasions. “There were 530 such instances where criminals were caught red handed,” he said.
On police preparedness for the upcoming polls, Mohanty said anti-social elements against whom cases were registered ahead of previous elections or those having the potential of creating trouble will be under the scanner.
Twin Cities Crime Chart
Murder: 7.5% rise with 43 murder cases reported in 2018 against the TA of 40.
Dacoity: 25% rise with 27 dacoity cases being reported against TA of 21.6
Robbery: 5.8% rise with 194 cases reported in 2018 against the TA of 183.
There has been a slight dip in burglary (by 6.9%) with 229 cases being reported in 2018 against the TA of 246, theft (by 2.9%) with 1555 cases against TA of 1594 and swindling cases (by 3.8%) with 584 cases against TA of 607.
Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act: A total of 41 cases have been registered in Bhubaneswar and 67 persons arrested with the seizure of 655.722 kilogram Ganja, 833.13 grams Brown Sugar, one car, 12 mobile phones and Rs 6, 43,340 cash. Similarly, nine cases have been registered in Cuttack and 16 persons arrested with the seizure of 581.845 kilogram Ganja, 65 grams Brown Sugar and Rs 11,100 cash.
Illegal firearms: 69 cases have been registered in Bhubaneswar and 79 persons have been arrested with the seizure of 19 pistols, four revolvers and 65 ammunition. In Cuttack, 36 cases have been registered and 59 persons arrested with the seizure of 27 pistols, one revolver and 91 ammunition.
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act: Nine cases have been registered in Bhubaneswar, 38 accused arrested and 21 victims rescued. In Cuttack, one case has been registered, three accused arrested and one victim rescued.
Altogether, 251 habitual offenders or criminals have been arrested or booked under section 110 of CrPC in Bhubaneswar and 452 in Cuttack. Besides, 719 Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) have been executed in Bhubaneswar and 1,223 in Cuttack.
Orissa Urban Police (OUP) Act: 61,676 violators have been detected in Bhubaneswar and Rs 3,12,47,500 fine has been realised. In Cuttack, 23,613 violator have been detected and Rs 1,15,09,500 fine realised.
Motor Vehicles (MV) Act: 1.69,816 violators have been detected in Bhubaneswar and Rs 1,76,18,900 fine has been realised and in Cuttack 1,45,024 violators detected and Rs 1,40,62,300 fine realised. Further, 121 MV PR has been submitted in Bhubaneswar and Nil in Cuttack.
Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 or COTPA: 914 violators have been detected in Bhubaneswar and Rs 92,850 fine has been realized and in Cuttack 4,738 violators detected and Rs 2,89,050 fine realised.
These apart, the Commissionerate Police has registered numerous suo moto cases along with arresting notorious criminals in the investigation process.
