A police officer is seen stopping a vehicle for checking in this photo shared on social media by the Dimapur Police in August 2020. As per the Dimapur police data, the most populous district in Nagaland witnessed a 10% drop in crime incidence in 2020. (File Photo: @dimapurpolice/Twitter)
Imkong Walling
Dimapur | December 28
Alongwith business and life in general, crime has also taken a hit in Dimapur in 2020. The most populous district and also the one that reports the most number of crimes in the state, the district witnessed a 10 percent drop in incidence compared to 2019.
According to data (as on December 16) released by the Dimapur police, a total of 824 cognizable offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other Special & Local Laws (SLL) were registered in the district. IPC crimes accounted for 657 (477 arrested) cases and cases registered under SLLs accounted for 167.
For comparison, the total number of cases registered till December 28, 2019, stood at 911.
The decline however was not attributed to offenders turning over a new leaf. In the words of a local police official, it was in all likelihood an “effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The total lockdown affected in March-April was a major contributing factor to the overall reduced crime-count. As reported by The Morung Express earlier, the Dimapur police registered/reported only 19 cases during March 23-April 24, 2020 as opposed to the 93 cases reported during the same period in 2019.
Reduced extortion, increased theft
Unsolicited monetary demands or extortion have ever remained a major menace to business in Nagaland and Dimapur in particular. However, there was a relative drop this year with the police registering 88 such offences and arresting 136 individuals.
The last time extortion cases dropped to double digit figures was in 2017, when that year ended with 81 reported instances. In 2019, 140 cases were registered and the number of persons arrested stood at 191.
For more comparative assessment, there were 8 extortion cases reported in the 3 week period in March before the state went into lockdown. In February and January, there were 12 and 13 reported cases, respectively. Only 1 case of extortion was reported during the lockdown in March-April before it crept back in as the pandemic restrictions were relaxed.
While extortion reduced, an increased incidence of theft was noted. There have been 287 cases of theft (till December 16) as opposed to the 261 registered in 2019. Burglary and robbery gave a combined total of 55 cases.
During the first lockdown, 7 thefts, 1 burglary were reported.
Murder, rape, kidnapping
From 8 murder cases in 2019, the data stated that this year, 11 murders were registered till December 16, while 14 persons were arrested in connection to the cases. As many as 9 attempts to murder (12 arrested) and 1 culpable homicide (no arrest) have been registered.
Under crime against women, 2 rape (2 arrested), 1 case of domestic violence (1 arrested) and 5 cases of assault on women (11 arrested) have also been registered.
There have been 3 kidnappings for ransom (7 arrested) and 16 missing cases (13 arrested).
Despite the many instances of road accidents, only 5 instances of rash driving and 3 arrests have been recorded.
Special & Local Laws
Liquor offences accounted for almost half of the cases booked under SLLs, followed by the Arms Act and Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Under the Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 76 offences were registered by the police and as many as 88 individuals arrested. The illicit liquor (IMFL) confiscated amounted 40,543 bottles.
In 2019, the figure for NLTP offences stood at 99 (123 persons arrested) and confiscation of 1,74,904 bottles of IMFL.
There have been 24 drug offences resulting in the arrest of 34 persons, while a wide range of banned drugs, including heroin and brown sugar, were confiscated.
Offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act accounted for 6 of the cases (5 arrested) registered under SLLs.
Increased arms catch
The illegal arms haul this year was more than double that of 2019. As per the data, 93 arms, ranging from 12’ bore and pistols to assault rifles was confiscated, while as many as 45 cases (64 arrested) were registered under the Arms Act. The haul in 2019 was tipped at 46.
Explosives like RDX and grenade and over 3700 rounds of ammunition of various calibre were also seized.
The comparatively high arms catch was attributed to increased surveillance by the security forces.
Further, 27 vehicles (16 two-wheelers and 11 four-wheelers) were also recovered.
