AP Is Safe In Jagan’s Hands?

Andhra Pradesh is a safer place with the overall cognisable crime rate plummeting by 18% in 2019 compared to the previous year, as per the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB report included crime statistics from 29 states and seven union territories of India and 19 metropolitan cities having more than 20 lakh population.

The NCRB report has given a shot in the arm for the YCP leaders who began claiming that their party president and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had taken adequate measures to check the crime rate and to give reassurance to the people over safety and security.

They said that the law and order situation in the state has improved since the YCP government was voted to power. Further, they said that people-friendly policing and pre-emptive measures by the cops had helped in registering a drop in crime rate.

A total of 79,629 criminal cases were registered in the state between January and September this year, according to the police date.

The YCP leaders also reminded that it was their government which set up 18 Disha police stations to check the crime against women in a speedy manner. They said that Jagan Mohan Reddy was also planning to bring in a new law to give strict punishment to perpetrators of crime against women and at the same time, ensure that the case would be taken to its logical conclusion within 21 working days.

Crime against women

However, the Opposition TDP is slamming the YCP government for the increasing crime rate against women, rape of minor girls and blatant violation of laws and rules in the state. AP stood sixth in the country in crimes against women with 17,746 cases being registered in 2019 as against 16,348 filed in 2018, according to the NRCB report.

The TDP leaders also reminded about the way women farmers of the Amaravati capital region were manhandled when they had been protesting against shifting of the capital to Vizag. The TDP leaders even took the issue to the notice of the courts and submitted evidences in support to their allegations.

A fact-finding team of the National Commission for Women too arrived in Andhra Pradesh to inquire into the manhandling of women protesters. The TDP leaders also said said that YCP activists were themselves were committing crimes against women.

The Opposition parties also made a mention of the violence perpetrated by the YCP goons during the rural bodies local body elections to make a majority of them unanimous. The State Election Commissioner himself sought extra security on the grounds that there is threat to his life, the opposition parties pointed out.

Covid effect

Meanwhile, setting these arguments aside, it is being said that the crime rate had dropped due to the Covid-19 lockdown as it had forced people to remain indoors. There has been a decline in the number of bodily offences, property offences.

Property offences have come down by 33% under the head of ‘murder for gain’ and robbery cases have also dropped by 32% while burglaries reduced by 20%.

Bodily offences have seen a decline with murders coming down by 10%. Cases of kidnapping and abduction have also come down by 25%.

Economic offences have seen a dip this year. Cheating cases which were only increasing over the years, have come down by almost 10%. This is significant when seen in the wake of the 26% rise in cheating cases in 2019 when compared to 2018.