Your city's suburban railway has gotten 400% more unsafe this year as compared to 2013. That's how much has been the increase — four-fold — in the number of murder cases registered till October 2014 with the Government Railway Police (GRP).
What are the figures?
Statistics available with the GRP show that in 2013 till December, four murder cases were registered, this year, the number till October is 15. Even the number of incidents of molestation have risen to 43 this year as compared to 41 last year.
Why such a steep rise in murders?
According to DD Wadmare, who retired as senior inspector, Crime Branch (GRP), there are several reasons behind the increase in the number of murders. "It has to be taken into account that the population of the city has been increasing, and the GRP, in my opinion, is short-staffed. Also, officers face a lot of hurdles, such as lack of technical support. Not to mention there is a dearth of good investigating officers," he said.
"There is also a shortage of dedicated officers who would investigate a case thoroughly and get a conviction in it."
'Less power to GRP the reason'
Social activist Samir Zaveri said, "One of the problems is the lack of coordination between the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and GRP. The CCTV monitoring rights have been given to the RPF, while GRP, which is the agency that prevents and detects crime, has to follow a number of protocols to access the footage; this is one of the things that allows criminals to get away."
"There are also other technical challenges that the GRP faces and, for assistance, it has to depend on other agencies," he added.
What does the GRP boss say?
GRP commissioner Ravindra Singhal admitted that there has been a rise in the number of murder cases, but said there were no specific reasons for it. "The numbers keep varying every year, but yes, this year there has been an increase," said Singhal.
"There are no specific reasons for the rise as the type of murder and their reasons vary. There was a case wherein one beggar killed another after a fight, in another case, some hawkers were fighting and one of them died, and we, at times, also convert a suicide case into murder, as per the evidence acquired."
FATAL NUMBERS
Year Murders
2011: 11
2012: 08
2013: 04
2014: 15
OTHER CRIMES THIS YEAR
Chain-snatching: 60 cases
Molestation: 43 cases
Pick-pocketing: 593 cases
Bag-lifting: 172 cases
Rioting: 7 cases
Assault: 29 cases
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