With over three quarters of the total thefts registered this year in the National Capital remaining unsolved, theft cases have started giving nightmares to the Delhi Police.

If reports are to be believed, the Delhi Police has not been able to solve even a quarter of about 50,000 theft cases registered till October 2022. The figure is based on the information received from 10 Delhi Police districts along with some other units.

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In reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the Delhi Police said that of a total of 48,942 cases of theft registered in ten districts and units of Delhi between January 1, 2022 and October 28, 2022, the police succeeded in solving only 10,586. The police arrested 7,036 accused in these cases, while in only 3,738 cases they were able to recover the stolen items of the victims.

According to the data provided by the police, West Delhi registered a maximum of 14,294 cases of theft in various police stations, out of which, the police were able to solve only 3,583 cases, leaving 10,711 cases of theft unresolved in the district. Moreover, within the total solved cases, 1,687 accused persons were arrested, while the recovery was made in only 1143 cases.

The IGI Airport Police, Domestic Police Station holds the worst record in solving the theft cases registered. As per data, out of 13 cases of theft, registered at the Domestic Police Station, the police kept battling to solve even one case during the period.

These revelations were made after the Delhi Police responded to a RTI filed by a social-worker namely Zeeshan Haider.

As stated by Zeeshan, he sought information from the various districts and units of the police through the RTI, about the number of theft cases registered in their respective districts and units between the period of January 2022 to October 28, 2022. Among all the registered cases, how many theft cases were solved, how many accused persons were arrested and in how many cases recovery of stolen items were made by the police.

Refusal to share info

Among the 15 police districts of Delhi, Outer-North, North-East, East, South-East, North-West, Rohini, Dwarka and Shahdara Districts refused to share the information sought through RTI. Some of these districts asked the RTI activist to go to all the police stations in their respective districts and conduct an inspection to procure the data. Some districts even replied by saying an amount of Rs. 2 per copy should be first paid, in order to receive the data.

Expert opinion

Advocate, Delhi High Court, Loveleen Kaithwas said that the figures indicate that the Delhi Police have miserably failed while solving theft cases registered in the National Capital.

Usually in crime records, theft is not considered under heinous crime. This is the reason such cases are not dealt with that seriousness. Moreover, the investigating officers are needed to be trained professionally to tackle such cases and bring the accused to justice. Not only this, the Delhi Police needs to upgrade themselves with new technologies and equipment, in order to increase their ability in tracing the accused involved in such crimes.