BHOPAL: A drastic decrease in crime rates have been observed during the election year. Crime-related statistics of the state as a whole indicate that compared to 2016 and 2017, the number of IPC crimes reported from the state were lesser in 2018 – the year in which the state elected its new government.
The moot question is whether the Kamal Nath government will be able to stabilise and sustain the dip in the crime rate in MP. The drop in the number of crimes in the election year is too significant to be treated as a coincidence. The dip is across the board – from serious crimes like murder and attempt to murder to petty ones like thefts and eve-teasing.
In the year 2016, a total of 1,850 murders were reported from the state. In 2017, the figure dropped to 1,800 and in 2018, it fell further to 1,750. Similarly, the number of attempted murders dropped from 2,100 in 2016 to 1,840 in 2017 and further to 1,700 in 2018. Compared with 2017, the number of other crimes also fell in 2018. The cases of dacoities fell from 70 to 60, robberies from 1,600 to 1,350, sexual harassment from 10,581 to 9,800, thefts from 31,500 to 30, 200, rioting from 1,750 to 1,300.
The tally of other crimes dropped from 1.99 lakh in 2017 to 1.80 lakh in 2018. One reason for this was extensive use of various provisions for preventing crime under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) by the police. For instance, the number of cases in which the police used Section 110 of the CrPC under which security for good behaviour is obtained from habitual offenders grew by 48 per cent in 2018, as compared to the earlier year.
Similarly, the National Security Act (NSA) was invoked in 55 per cent more cases in the election year than in the year before. While in 2017, the stringent Act was used in 420 cases, in 2018, it was used in 655 cases. Similarly, another preventive provision, Section 107/116 of the CrPC was used in 20 per cent more cases in 2018 than in 2017. Along the same lines, there was quantum jump of 78 per cent in cases of externment of criminals. The number of such cases was 2,630 in 2017 but jumped to 4,800 in 2018.
Senior police officials say that there are several reasons for the drop in crimes in the election year. To begin with, the field-level police officials are monitored more intensively not only by the PHQ but also by the Election Commission. Also, the number of cops deployed for VVIP duties is reduced and the availability of force also goes up.
IGP of Bhopal Zone Jaideep Prasad, said that the police, in order to prevent violence during polls, are more vigilant and ensured that the habitual criminals are either bounded over or externed from districts.
Power to use preventive provisions rests with executive magistrates
Top police officials, who were unwilling to be quoted, said the police are often hampered by the fact that the power to use preventive provisions of the CrPC rests with the executive magistrates. “We can only make recommendations. The action can be taken only by the SDMs and the DM,” a DIG-level officer said. They say that the police commissioner system can be an answer to the problem. Under the police commissioner system, the police officials enjoy magisterial powers and can bound and extern criminals themselves.
