Crimes Against Foreigners Increased in India in 2016, Shows Govt. Report

Crimes against foreign nationals increased in India in 2016 in comparison to 2015, according to data released recently by India’s National Crime Records Bureau. Crimes committed by foreigners in India fell in the same period.

Crimes Against Foreigners

Of the 382 crimes recorded with foreigners as victims in India in 2016, 154 took place in Delhi alone, accounting for 40 per cent of the cases. The next highest incidence was recorded in Maharashtra, at almost 10 per cent, while Puducherry witnessed 8.6 per cent of such crimes. In 2015, 365 cases of crime were recorded to have taken placec against foreigners.

Theft was the most common crime committed against foreigners in India in 2016, followed by other IPC crimes such as snatching or causing hurt. Of the 142 cases of theft, 124 were pending at the end of the year. Twelve foreigners were murdered in 2016, while 38 were molested and 19 allegedly raped.

According to the data, 100 per cent conviction rate was noticed when it came to robbery but only 60 per cent convictions happened when there was assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty. There was 0 per cent conviction in cases of rape and theft.

Crimes by Foreigners

West Bengal recorded the maximum number of crimes registered with foreigners as offenders, at 520 cases, while Delhi recorded 143. A total of 91 cases were registered in Karnataka in 2016. In all, 1,226 crimes were registered against foreigners from 47 countries in 2016. In 2015, the figure was 1,278.

Goa saw a high number of cheating cases while Delhi had more forgery incidents. Eleven cases of murder and 12 rapes were registered against foreigners in 2016 all over India.

There was 100 per cent charge-sheeting for crimes like murder, unnatural offences, forgery, counterfeiting banknotes, passport Act 1967, Registration of Foreigners Act 1937, and Explosives and Explosive Substances Act. There was a high conviction rate for those arrested under the Registration of Foreigners Act.

Crime Rate in India

A total of 48,31,515 cognizable crimes comprising 29,75,711 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 18,55,804 Special & Local Laws (SLL) crimes were reported in 2016, showing an increase of 2.6 per cent over 2015 (47,10,676 cases).

The national capital recorded the highest crime rate (974.9), followed by Kerala a (727.6), Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Assam in 2016 in IPC crimes. The national average was recorded as 233.6. However, Kerala had the highest crime rate, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu in SLL crimes.

Among the cities of India, Delhi had the highest crime rate, followed by Kochi, Jaipur, Patna, and Indore for only IPC crimes while Coimbatore is the safest city in a list of 19 metropolitan cities.