Unsafe Odisha: Crime Rate Peaking In State, Admits Home Minister

Bhubaneswar: The crime graph in Odisha makes for disturbing reading with various cases on the rise for the past three years.

Home Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra admitted as much in the Assembly on Monday while replying to a query by Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja.

According to the minister, 1.21 lakh criminal cases were registered in Odisha in 2019. This number rose to 1.34 lakh in 2020.

Rapes

Mishra informed that by June 2021, as many as 1,563 rape cases were lodged at police stations across the state. Of these, around half (786 cases) were rape of minor girls.

Last year, the total number of rape cases was 2,984. This included 1,646 cases of rape against minors.

In 2019, the number of rape cases was 2,950, including 1,635 pertaining to minor victims.

Sex Assaults

The state had recorded 4,949 cases of sexual assault till June this year. In the whole of 2019, the figure was 6,848 and it rose to 7,937 in 2020.

Murders

Till June this year, 782 murder cases were lodged in Odisha. The figure was 1,470 in 2020 up from 1,356 in 2019.

Dowry Deaths

Till June this year, 184 cases of dowry death were reported in the state, the minister informed. The number of dowry death cases was 311 in 2020 as against 278 in 2019.

Worst Performers

According to the minister, Ganjam police district had reported the highest of 7,858 criminal cases in 2020, followed by Bhubaneswar police district (7674) and Angul police district (7,024).

Reacting to the figures tabled by the minister, his own party MLA Satya Narayan Pradhan criticised the deteriorating law and situation in Odisha. Pradhan alleged that inadequate number of police stations and outposts was leading to increase in crime in Odisha.