Jammu and Kashmir recorded the second-lowest rate of reporting murder cases among all the states and Union territories in 2023, with less than one case per one-lakh population, data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed.The data has also revealed that Jammu and Kashmir saw a decline of more than 38 per cent in murder cases in two years.The crime rate is calculated as crime per one-lakh population.
The rate of murder cases registered in Jammu and Kashmir was lower than six other Union territories and all the 28 states. Only Lakshadweep had a lower rate of murder — zero.
The rate of murder in the Union territories was 1.7, while countrywide it was 2.
The highest rate of murder among the Union territories was recorded in Delhi (2.4), while Manipur (4.7) topped the chart among the states.
According to the data, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 136 murder cases in 2021. The number of cases fell to 99 in 2022 and further to 84 in 2023 — a drop of 38.23 per cent in two years.
Jammu and Kashmir recorded the second-highest number of murder cases among the eight Union territories in 2023 that witnessed a total of 665 cases. Delhi had the highest of 506. Lakshadweep reported no murder case.
While the number of such cases stood at 27,721 across the country in 2023, there were six states that had fewer cases than Jammu and Kashmir.
In these cases of murder, there were 101 victims — 98 adults and three children. Of the victims, 86 were males and 15 females.
There were two murder victims aged below six years — a male and a female. While there was no such case in the age group of six to 12 years, there was one female victim in the 12-16 age group.
The data revealed that there was no murder of 16 to 18 year olds in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, but 41 victims — 36 males and five females — were in the age bracket of 18 to 30 years.
The data revealed that 23 cases were due to personal vendetta or enmity, 28 due to disputes, mainly in the family, eight because of extremism or insurgency and six out of love affairs.
Eight states and six Union territories recorded fewer cases of killings due to love affairs than Jammu and Kashmir.
There were no murder cases related to dowry even as 832 such cases, including the maximum of 224 in Odisha, were registered across the country.
Also, no deaths due to political reasons, honour killings, witchcraft, human sacrifice, communal or religious cases or casteism took place in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023.
In seven cases, the motives were not known. These cases were termed blind murder cases.
However, the data revealed that Jammu and Kashmir witnessed slower investigations in murder cases as it recorded the lowest chargesheeting rate among the Union territories.
Jammu and Kashmir’s chargesheeting rate of 72 was lower than the seven other Union territories as also below the all-India rate of 85.7.
While Manipur had the lowest chargesheeting rate of 51.7, 23 states had a higher chargesheeting rate than Jammu and Kashmir.The Union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Ladakh and Lakshadweep recorded a cent per cent chargesheeting rate.
Not just murder cases, Jammu and Kashmir also recorded the second-highest number of kidnapping or abduction cases among the Union territories in 2023.
The NCRB data revealed that in 2021, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 1,013 such cases, a figure that went up to 1,046 in 2022. However, in 2023, it dropped to 1,004.
Delhi had the highest number of 5,715 such cases. Lakshadweep had nil, while Ladakh registered five such cases.According to the data, the rate of such cases per one-lakh population in Jammu and Kashmir was 7.4 — higher than five Union territories but lesser than Delhi (26.6) and Chandigarh (13).
The rate was slightly below the average national rate of 8.2. As many as 17 states had a lower crime rate than Jammu and Kashmir.
When it came to chargesheeting in such cases, Jammu and Kashmir recorded a rate of 30.6 — better among the Union territories. Delhi registered a chargesheeting rate of only 6.6, while Ladakh recorded a rate of 28.6. The all-India chargesheeting rate was 37.
Among the abduction victims, 502 were children, including 419 females, while 508 were adults — again a bulk 492 females.
At the end of 2023, Jammu and Kashmir had 798 victims who were not found by police — 52 males, 746 females — the second-highest number recorded among the Union territories and higher than 14 states.