However, the drastic reduction of crimes against women does not necessarily mean that there were fewer crimes
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Mumbai has seen a drastic drop in the crime rate from January-August this year as compared to the corresponding period in 2019 and experts believe it could be because of the lockdown and restrictions in movement due to coronavirus.
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As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, cases of murders, robberies, and chain snatching saw a marginal downtrend, while crimes against women declined by 41 per cent and theft cases declined by 47 per cent.
Most of the robberies took place in shops and stalls in Mumbai that were closed due to the lockdown, said a police officer.
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Among crimes against women, dowry harassment recorded the highest decline of 51 per cent and dowry related deaths dropped by 50 per cent. Rape cases dropped from 668 to 440, molestation cases declined from 1,785 to 1,116, cases of insulting the modesty of women reduced from 404 to 251 and kidnapping of women and children came down from 924 to 478.
However, the sharp reduction of crimes against women does not necessarily mean that there were fewer crimes. It could also mean that the cases were not reported given the lockdown and restrictions.
This holds particularly true for India because the National Commission for Women received 239 complaints of domestic violence from March 23-April 16, a jump from the 123 complaints in the months before the lockdown.
Also, a former senior IPS officer noted that the lockdown could have been a factor in the reduction of crimes, while in cases of crimes against women, general strong checks could have played a role. Although he also said that less interaction between men and women during the lockdown could be another deterrent.
While financial crime saw an increase from 18 to 24, cybercrimes like hacking, defamation, bank frauds, etc. also increased as compared to last year.
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