Punjab is among top eight states and Union Territories in registering of cases under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and among five top states in filing cases under the Official Secrets Act, the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for the year 2020 has revealed.
• Further in Punjab, the overall criminal cases under Indian Penal Code and special, local laws registered an increase from 70,138 in 2018 to 82,875 in 2020, which comes to an increase of 18 per cent.
• There was a rise of 13.75 per cent in criminal cases during the Covid pandemic year in 2020 as compared to cases in 2019.
• From 2018 to 2019, the corresponding rise in cases was 3.87 per cent as the cases increased from 70,138 to 72,855.
• With 19 cases under UAPA, Punjab is at seventh slot, after UT of Jammu and Kashmir (287 cases), Manipur (169 cases), Jharkhand (86 cases), Assam (76 cases), Uttar Pradesh (72 cases) and Bihar (30 cases). In Meghalaya, ten cases under UAPA offences were registered in 2020.
• Punjab is also among top four states in registering cases under the Official Secrets Act in 2020. Four cases under the Act were registered in Punjab, while Maharashtra government led the tally by registering ten cases, followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (six each).
• A total of 24,794 cases were registered for committing crime against Senior Citizens (aged above 60 years), showing a decrease of 10.8 per cent in registration over 2019 (27,804 cases).
• In Punjab, however, crimes against senior citizens increased from 228 in 2019 to 289 in 2020.