Homicide Patterns In India Over The Years

[donganaaK]

Decreasing trend of homicide

From 37,399 fatalities in 2000, the total number fell to 33,335 in 2010, an absolute decline of 11%. The decline is even more dramatic when adjusted for the country’s population, which rose an estimated twenty percent during this period from 1.02 to 1.21 billion people. Thus the homicide rate fell in these years from 3.73 reported criminal fatalities per 100,000 people in 2000 to 2.8 per 100,000 in 2010 (NCRB, Crime in India, 2000-2010, in figure 1).

Murder by motive

Figure 2 provides a historical development of the different motives of murder in India from 2000-2010. In 2010, the largest category of murder motives by far was other motives, constituting 62 percent of all reported murders.

Reported Murder for Gain

Gain refers to murders related to unlawful acquisition of valuable items with monetary worth such as gold, ornaments, jewelry and cash. It encompasses extortion, robbery and theft, followed by murder of the victim.

Reported Murders for property disputes and personal vendettas

Closely related to matters of gain are murders over property disputes, most commonly land grabbing or encroachment. Reports of murder over property dropped significantly in the 1990s but have been stable since(figure 4).

Murder victims disaggregated by gender and age in 2010

While the national murder rate was 2.8 per 100,000 overall, data disaggregated by gender reveals that the murder rate for men was 4.0 per 100,000 and for women, the rate was 1.4 respectively (NCRB, Crime in India). In all, there were 2.8 times more male victims, 25,166 men and boys compared to 8,618 women and girls. The trends illustrated in Figure 5 indicate that the decline in murders since 2000 has disproportionately favored men, while the reported murder rate for females is more stable (NCRB, Crime in India).

Reported murders due to witchcraft

In 2010, Indian police records reported 178 murders motivated by witchcraft (NCRB, 2011). Independent studies suggest the actual total could be more than twice as high (Sutradhar, 2006). While victims can be male or female, the vast majority of witch killings appear to target women. Instances of property dispute resolution within the community have resulted in women being branded as witches. This often allows for a societal solution using the superstitions of a community to solve a problem, often economically related and taking advantage of the isolation or stigma surrounding a woman.

Reported murders due to love

Although official reports do not clarify the category, it also appears to include some sexually motivated murders. The majority of homicide victims due to love or sexual causes are women. According to the NCRB data, in contrast to other major motives such as gain, property or vendetta, love attributions remained relatively stable during most of the period under review, except for a temporary and poorly understood peak in the early 1990s.

Reported dowry deaths in India

Under NCRB reporting practices, murders due to dowry disputes are recorded under a separate chapter, ‘Crime against Women’.Official reports of dowry murder have increased steadily since 1990. In the past decade, the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have reported the highest figures in the country. In 2010, 26.4% of all reports were from Uttar Pradesh (2,217) followed by 15% from Bihar (1,257) (NCRB, Crime against Women, 2011). A study on female mortality in India suggests that the dowry phenomenon is more pervasive in northern parts of the country.

Fatalities due to extremism and terrorism in J & K

From 2006-2010, NCRB and SATP data both indicated a steep drop in terrorist murders in Kashmir, meaning killings by opponents of Indian rule. The year 2010 saw the lowest number of violent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir for two decades.

Fatalities due to extremism and terrorism in NE India

Due to Naxlism and political motivations.

The objective of the Naxal movement is the violent destruction of the state and the imposition of a Maoist political renaissance (IPCS, 2010a). Recent figures estimate the strength of the Naxalite movement at 15,000 combatants. According to NCRB data, of the 537 terrorist or extremist murders in 2010, 75% were recorded in Naxalite affected regions (NCRB, Crime in India, 2011). These statistics miss much of Naxalite conflict, especially killings by security services. The social and political disruption of Naxalite violence, moreover, is far greater than numbers of fatalities might suggest, and seems certain to dominate regional security affairs for years to come.

Reported Murders from Other Motives

The Other motives category is the most problematic of all motive categories. While it does not directly affect the total number of reported killings, it does affect the ability to make sense of their causes. In 2010 there were 20,613 murders recorded under the other motives category (NCRB, Crime in India, 2011). This accounted for 62% of the total murders committed in India. Since 1990, an average of 20,359 murders has been recorded every year without a known or classifiable motive (NCRB, Crime in India, 1990-2011).

Top states reporting homicides as other motives in 2010

the othercategory is used most in Uttar Pradesh, a state with rampant violence problems, but it also is used heavily in states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka where criminal violence is comparatively a less serious problem. The high number of murders recorded in other motives also creates serious impediments to international comparisons of murder using the NCRB dataset. Reform measures that would encourage or require uniform crime reporting and systematic classification, sharply decreasing and eventually eliminating use of other or unknown categories should be put in place.

Murders by firearms

During 2005-2010, of all murders with firearms, on an average less than 12% were committed with licensed firearms. These reports leave no doubt that most firearm deaths in India are committed with unlicensed weapons. Poorly made, relatively inexpensive country-made craft guns (kattas) are widely described as the country’s most serious firearms proliferation issue. Of 5,643 murders listed due to gunshot in 2005, a reported 5,087 were committed with illegal firearms, and only 556 were with licensed firearms. In an effort to curb illegal arms proliferation and stricter tracking of firearms, the Ministry of Home Affairs setup a National Database of Armed Licences (NDAL). The objective is to allow the government to keep tabs on the number of firearms license holders by providing them with a smart card which would be linked to a central database of arms licenses. So far, Punjab is the only state to complete the project and Tamil Nadu has initiated digitization of firearm license records