FOUL FIGURES

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 25: The number of murders and rape cases has gone up and the city police chief says the figures may rise further with the present generation hooked to communication technology.

"The society is transforming rapidly with communication technology and social media bringing members of opposite sexes close. Most of the registered rape cases in the city followed elopement and illegitimate relationships," R.P. Sharma said while addressing his last news conference as the police commissioner here today.

Sharma's reasoning for the rise in the number of rapes in Bhubaneswar has left many surprised.

However, in the course of his interaction, he had some words of assurance for the residents.

"We are here to help the citizens, not to frighten them. I, along with my officials, have taken several people-friendly measures and hope the trend will continue. I urge the citizens to co-operate with us in tackling crime," said Sharma.

Despite putting the blame on increasing use of technology to communicate, Sharma said his team was taking all possible measures to curb crimes in the twin cities.

While Sharma saw increased use of tech behind the spurt in rape cases, women in Bhubaneswar reaped the benefit of an android application launched by the police.

Nearly 2,100 women used the android application Mo Sathi to lodge complaints with the police.

The figures reveal that other innovative measures introduced by the police for women's safety have failed to yield the desired results.

The police in Bhubaneswar have received 358 complaints of domestic violence through Madhyam, which is a women's support cell of the police.

The review by Sharma, however, showed that Cuttack was placed a shade better than Bhubaneswar when it came to incidents of crime.

The figures released today revealed that Bhubaneswar recorded 44 murder and 87 rape cases in 2015 as compared to 42 and 72, respectively, the previous year.

Cuttack, on the other hand, fared better in 2015 with the city recording 22 murders and 42 rape cases against 36 and 66, respectively, in 2014.

Two cases of gang-rape were recorded in Bhubaneswar in 2015, but Cuttack had a clean slate. The police also busted 21 sex rackets in the state capital last year and rescued 34 women and arrested 75 people.

The twin cities have also recorded a rise in cases of theft, swindling and riots last year. The police have recorded 1,788 cases of theft in 2015 as compared to 1,432 in 2014. Similarly, 622 cases of swindling and 107 cases of riots were reported last year while the corresponding figures for 2014 were 394 and 90, respectively.

Sharma, however, had more assuring words for senior citizens. He said the senior citizen's cell was activated and it had 4,084 registered members.

Sharma said his tenure had been challenging and the arrest of a terrorist from Jagatpur and tackling organised crimes in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar were its high points.

Sharma will be taking charge as special director-general of state vigilance.