The year 2022 registered a rise in burglaries, thefts, accidents, and excise cases across Himachal Pradesh (HP), while acquittals took place in over 62 per cent of NDPS and 60 per cent rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSOA) cases.
A total of 292 burglaries were registered in the hill state in 2021 as against 491 in 2022, a rise of 68.2 per cent. Similarly, 670 cases of theft were registered in 2022 marking a rise of 41.1 per cent.
In 2021, 2,408 accidents took place across the state where 1,052 people died. In 2022, the number of accidents rose to 2,592, marking a rise of 7.6 per cent, where 982 people lost their lives.
There were 3,119 cases registered under the Excise Act, with a rise of 5.1 per cent.
A marginal dip in cases registered under the NDPS Act was seen as in 2022, 1,516 cases were registered against 1,537 cases of 2021. Also, 368 cases were decided by the courts in 2022, where 133 resulted in convictions and 231 ended in acquittals. The rate of acquittal is 62.8 per cent as convictions happened only in 37.1 per cent of cases.
In 2021 was worse as the accused walked free in 151 out of 212 NDPS cases (71.2 per cent).
Overall there is a 5.5 per cent dip in crime against women as 1,606 cases were registered in 2022. However, in molestation cases, there is a rise as 501 cases registered in 2022, as against 488 in 2021.
There were 358 rape cases in 2022 against 359 in 2021. As per the crime analysis of three years, 48.8 per cent of accused in rape cases were well known to the victims and 27.1 per cent were committed during friendship. Also, 16.5 per cent of cases were registered in living-in relationships.
There were 21 murders of women in 2022, while the figure for 2021 was 26.
A total of 170 cases of rape and POCSOA were decided by courts where 103 ended in acquittals. This amounts to 60.6 per cent. In 2021, it was worse as 42 out of 67 (62.7 per cent) cases ended in acquittals.
Himachal Pradesh Police data says that the recovery of missing children is 95 per cent as 791 were traced out of 836. The recovery of missing women is 85 per cent as 2,402 could be traced out of 2,840.
Also, the police have identified over 4,300 sexual offenders, out of which 55 are repeat offenders. Over 2,300 Drug Trafficking Operators (DTOs) have been identified, out of which 400 are repeat offenders.