70% of Delhi’s heinous crimes in 2 districts

NEW DELHI: The north-east district is turning out to be the crime underbelly of Delhi. This area reported the largest number of heinous crimes among the 11 police districts -- about 40 per cent of 16, 273 -- last year. These include cases of murder and attempt to murder, rape, molestation, riots and kidnappings. Outer district was the second most crime-infested area, with a 30 per cent share.This has been highlighted in a white paper on ‘State of policing and law and order in Delhi’, released by NGO Praja on Wednesday. The NGO obtained the data through RTI.
The north-east district is an amalgamation of resettlement and unauthorised colonies and has easy access to areas of Uttar Pradesh. The colonies include Seemapuri, Gokulpuri, Bhajanpura, Jafrabad, Shahdara, Seelampur and Khajuri Khas besides some middle class areas like Mansarovar Park. On the other side is outer which has a mix of rural areas and unauthorised colonies, bordering Haryana, besides the middle class Rohini and other similar pockets. The areas include Narela, Alipur, Bawana, Khanjawla, Shahbad Dairy, Mangolpuri, Sultanpuri and Samaipur Badli.
According to the police, most of these areas have a huge migrant population from across the country. Poverty, lack of amenities, vulnerability to exploitation, minority and majority communities living cheek by jowl, out-of-school children left to fend for themselves at home as their parents toil to eke out their daily existence and social factors like alcoholism and propensity for violence make these areas ripe for crime. The rural areas are caught between an agricultural past and an urban present.
Expressing concern over the state of law and order in the capital, the white paper points out that on an average, six rapes, two murders and 215 burglaries, thefts and robberies were reported daily in 2015. There was a steep increase of 16 per cent in murders and 13 per cent in rapes over 2014. Robbery and dacoity cases went up by 33 per cent. It’s disturbing that almost two-thirds of the murders were due to petty reasons or because of fights over money, indicating that the city is on a short fuse.
The rape figures expose the vulnerability of children. In a total of 2,338 cases, 876 were against children. 81 of the survivors were below six years and 146 in the 6-12 age-group. Almost one-fourth of the rapes were committed by neighbours or persons known to the survivor.
Nitai Mehta, managing trustee of Praja Foundation, pointed out that out of 2,338 cases of violence against women registered last year, 947 were from south, 1113 from north-east and 776 from outer.
Justice delivery is faltering. In out of the 17,301 heinous crimes reported across the city in 2014, chargesheets were filed in 5,346 cases and only 919 criminals were convicted. Delhi Police has a total working strength of 77,083 personnel, of which 5,620 are sub-inspectors and 6,543 assistant sub-inspectors who handle the bulk of heinous crimes. Additionally, they are also deployed for providing security.
The white paper argues that both the Centre and state government have failed to deliver on their promises like adequate street lights, safe public transport with last-mile connectivity, CCTVs and speedy justice. It notes with regret that a proposed state security commission, consisting of the LG, CM, police chief, Leader of the Opposition and others is yet to be formed. And, taking stock of the questions related to crime and policing in Delhi asked by MPs in Parliament, it has found them wanting.