Decline in crime rate against women since 2014, says Haryana DGP

Chandigarh, Oct 1 (PTI) Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur on Wednesday said that there has been a decline in crime rate against women in the state.

In 2023, there were 1,800 registered rape cases, which decreased to 1,350 in 2024, and by the end of 2025, the figure is estimated to come down to around 1,100, he said, according to a statement.

Compared to 2014, the population has grown substantially, yet the decline in crimes against women reflects both strict policing and a sensitive approach, the DGP said.

While touching upon the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB's) 'Crime in India 2023' report, he said in 2023, 2,24,216 FIRs were registered in the state, placing Haryana at the fourth position in the country in terms of FIR registrations.

He emphasised that these figures are not a sign of excessive crime, but rather the result of a transparent and citizen-centric policy of registering every case.

On deeper analysis, about 67,000 of these cases are related to electricity and water theft, and 15,529 pertain to missing persons. Thus, 83,113 cases are confined to just these two categories. Excluding them, the actual crime rate drops significantly, placing Haryana well below the top 10 states nationally, he said.

He highlighted that one of the major reforms in the power sector since 2017 has been curbing electricity theft. As a result, large numbers of power theft cases started being detected.

"Consequently, Haryana began registering a significant number of FIRs on electricity and water theft, unlike most other states where such cases are either not registered or are very few," he said.

Kapur said that "Haryana is the first and only state in the country where 100 per cent FIRs are registered for missing persons and children".

"...Haryana Police ensures that an FIR is filed in every case and action is taken on priority. The NCRB report also proves that in 2023, around 32,000 such cases were registered nationwide, out of which 15,529 alone pertained to Haryana. In other states, the number is either very low or negligible, while Haryana has made this its consistent policy," he said.

On the drug-free Haryana campaign, Kapur said that the Haryana Police makes about 5,500 arrests every year under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, including nearly 1,000 major traffickers.

Along with breaking the supply chain of narcotics, efforts are also being made to reduce demand. More than 4,000 villages and wards in the state have already been declared drug-free, and by the end of this year, the target is to declare 60 to 70 per cent of villages drug-free.

Simultaneously, efforts are being made to strengthen de-addiction centres, he added. PTI SUN KSS KSS