Warangal: Lockdown gives unintended gains
Commissioner of Police P Pramod Kumar
Warangal: The coronavirus pandemic that caused many adverse effects worldwide and forced people to stay indoors has unintended gains as well. Though the lockdown was intended to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus, there was a significant drop in major crime such as murders, dacoities and robberies in the Warangal Police Commissionerate in 2020. However, there was an increase in the overall crime rate, this year. The number of cases has gone up by 7.8 per cent. The number of cases in 2020 was 9,663 as against 8,956 in 2019.
There is a significant drop (25%) in crime against women in 2020 compared to 2019. The number of cases fell to 744 this year compared to 997 in 2019. Despite this, there wasn't much difference when it comes to the cases of rape and molestation (354 IPC) cases. The number of rape and molestation cases registered this year is 63 and 246 as against last year's 66 and 256. Property offences (21%) and cheating (23%) have also come down.
There is an increase in cases pertaining to culpable homicide, hurts, rioting, attempt to murder, and other crimes. The police claim that due to preventive measures, the fatal road accident cases were decreased this year by 25 per cent.
The number of people killed in 858 mishaps was 330 this year as against 369 deaths in 1,149 accidents in 2019.
Commissioner of Police P Pramod Kumar said that they started to register accident cases caused by drunken drivers under 304-II of IPC.
As a result, there is a 40 percent rise in such cases. There is an increase in the number of petty crimes as it was made mandatory to register all the cases immediately, he said.
As far as the Court disposal is concerned, of the total 1,425 cases, 709 ended in conviction. One case with capital punishment (hanging) and seven life imprisonment. Referring to the murder of nine persons in Gorrekunta, the Commissioner claimed credit for cracking the case within no time, this despite the absence of clues. He said that police were able to crack the case using technology, and the court awarded culprit the capital punishment.
The Commissionerate police were able to nab 11 interstate robber gangs - one from Rajasthan, three from Andhra Pradesh and seven from Telangana this year.