Delhi continues to grapple with a disturbing rise in crime, topping National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) charts for offences against women, crimes against senior citizens, and cases involving foreigners year after year.
Here’s a look at the list of categories in which Delhi ranks highest, according to NCRB data that was released on Wednesday.
Crimes against women
Crime against women in Delhi stood at highest when compared to 19 major cities, with 13,396 cases registered in 2024 alone. Data disclosed that rape and dowry were the main concerns behind the rising crime rates, with 1,058 cases registered for rape.
High juvenile crime
Delhi dominated the juvenile crime statistics recording 2,306 cases in 2024- highest among all metro cities.
Crimes against children
Delhi registered 7,662 cases of crimes against children in 2024, showing a slight decline from 7,769 cases reported in 2023; despite the decline it still topped the NCRB charts for highest crime rates against children, standing at 138.4 cases per lakh child population.
Kidnapping and abduction
Delhi recorded 5,580 cases of kidnapping and abduction in 2024, while it had 5,715 cases registered in 2023. Though a slight decline from the previous year, it continues to report the highest rate of kidnapping and abduction cases among all states and union territories.
Highest number of murder
While 504 murders were reported during 2024 as against 506 in 2023, yet the national capital recorded the highest number of murder cases in absolute terms among union territories.
Crimes against senior citizens
The data shows that 1,267 cases were registered in the national capital during 2024- the highest among all union territories and metro cities; however it recorded a marginal decline from the 1,361 cases that were reported in 2023.
Crimes against foreigners
Delhi reported 64 cases of crimes against foreigners in 2024, the highest in the country. The figure stands for a marginal rise from 63 cases in 2023 and a sharp increase from 40 cases that were recorded in 2024.
Highest road accident fatalities
The national capital had the highest number of deaths due to road accidents among 19 metropolitan cities across the country in 2024, recording 1,658 fatalities in 2,000 cases.
According to NCRB data, of the total cases registered under “causing death by negligence related to road accidents,”1,521 were hit-and-run incidents, while 479 cases were categorised under other types of road accidents.
Highest cognisable offences among 19 metro cities
Delhi paints a worrying picture as it tops 19 metro cities in cognisable offences, registering over 2.7 lakh cases in 2024, exceeding Mumbai by five times and Bengaluru by seven times.
Despite the massive number of cases, Delhi’s charge-sheeting rate remained the poorest among the 19 metropolitan cities covered in the report, at 31.9 per cent.
