NCRB 2023 report: Rise in crimes against women, cybercrime, farmer suicides

The NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) has released its annual report for 2023, revealing concerning trends across various crime categories. Notably, crimes against women have seen a slight increase, cybercrimes have surged significantly, and farmer suicides continue to pose a serious challenge.

In 2023, India reported 448,211 cases of crimes against women, a small rise from 445,256 cases in 2022. The national crime rate was 66.2 incidents per lakh female population, based on mid-year projections of 67.7 crore females. The overall charge-sheeting rate for these cases stood at 77.6 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 66,381 cases, followed by Maharashtra (47,101), Rajasthan (45,450), West Bengal (34,691), and Madhya Pradesh (32,342). Regarding crime rates per lakh female population, Telangana led with 124.9, followed by Rajasthan (114.8), Odisha (112.4), Haryana (110.3), and Kerala (86.1).

• Cruelty by husband or relatives (Section 498A IPC) accounted for the largest share with 133,676 cases (29.8 per cent)

• This was followed by kidnapping and abduction of women (88,605 cases, 19.8 per cent)

• Assault on women with intent to outrage modesty (83,891 cases, 18.7 per cent)

• Rape (29,670 cases, 6.6 per cent)

Additionally, there were 6,156 dowry deaths, 4,825 cases of abetment to suicide, and 8,823 instances of insult to modesty.

Under Special and Local Laws, 87,850 cases were registered, including 15,489 under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1,788 under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 632 cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, and 40,046 cases under the POCSO Act (child rape cases).

Cybercrimes: Surge in digital offences

Cybercrimes have risen sharply, with 86,420 cases reported in 2023, marking a 31.2 per cent increase from 65,893 cases in 2022. The national cybercrime rate increased from 4.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

• Fraudulent activities made up the majority, with 59,526 cases (68.9 per cent)

• Sexual exploitation (4,199 cases, 4.9 per cent)

• Extortion (3,326 cases, 3.8 per cent).

The NCRB report highlights that cybercrimes are increasingly targeting individuals, underscoring the urgent need for better digital literacy and strengthened cybersecurity measures.

Farmer suicides: A persistent crisis

The agrarian community continues to face high suicide rates. In 2023, 10,786 farming-sector individuals took their own lives, accounting for 6.3 per cent of the total 171,418 suicides nationwide. This includes 4,690 farmers or cultivators and 6,096 agricultural labourers.

Maharashtra recorded the highest proportion of farmer suicides at 38.5 per cent, followed by Karnataka (22.5 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (8.6 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (7.2 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (5.9 per cent).

States such as West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Lakshadweep reported no farmer or agricultural labourer suicides.

Economic hardship remains a significant factor, with 66.2 per cent of victims having an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh. Among the unemployed, Kerala (15.4 per cent), Maharashtra (14.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11.2 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (9.1 per cent) had the highest suicide rates.

Murder cases reduce

India recorded 27,721 murder cases in 2023, a 2.8 per cent decrease from 28,522 cases in 2022.

Most murders were linked to:

• Disputes (9,209 cases)

• Personal vendetta or enmity (3,458 cases)

• Gain (1,890 cases)

Crimes against Scheduled Tribes increased sharply by 28.8 per cent, rising from 10,064 cases in 2022 to 12,960 in 2023. The crime rate for this group also rose from 9.6 to 12.4 per lakh population.

Urban crime trends: Rise in metropolitan areas

Metropolitan cities reported 944,291 cognizable crimes in 2023, marking a 10.6 per cent increase from 853,470 cases in 2022.

The majority of urban crimes were:

• Thefts (44.8 per cent)

• Rash driving (9.2 per cent)

• Obstruction on public way (8.1 per cent)

This upward trend highlights the challenges of law enforcement in rapidly growing cities, where population density, economic disparities, and infrastructure gaps contribute to rising crime.

Overall crime statistics

In 2023, India registered 6,241,569 cognizable crimes — comprising 3,763,102 under the Indian Penal Code and 2,478,467 under Special and Local Laws. This represents a 7.2 per cent increase from 5,824,946 cases in 2022.

The national crime rate per lakh population rose from 422.2 in 2022 to 448.3 in 2023.

The data reveals a worrying upward trend in multiple crime categories, emphasising the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address root causes and improve public safety.

With PTI inputs