1.8 lakh cases disposed by Delhi police in 2017: NCRB

Delhi police had to dispose of more than 1.80 lakh cases in 2017 owing to insufficient evidence or its failure to find clues, the maximum among all states and union territories, according to the National Crime Records Bureau data released for the year.

Uttar Pradesh had the second-highest number of such cases at 81,170. No cases were reported disposed in Lakshadweep because of lack of evidence or inability to find clues.

The NCRB, responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country, released the data for 2017 on Monday, after a delay of more than a year. The agency comes under the Union Home Ministry.

The data showed Delhi, the national capital, also had the maximum number of cases pending investigation from 2016 at 1,70,311 followed by Maharashtra at 1,59,395 cases.

As many as 1,82,833 authentic cases were disposed of by Delhi police due to insufficient evidence, no clue or other similar factors, according to the NCRB data.

It showed that 5,522 cases were abated during an investigation. As many as 25,368 cases of 2016 were charge-sheeted the next year, in addition to 26,707 cases of 2017.

Twenty-five cases were transferred from Delhi police to other agencies or states.

"In Delhi, there is a facility to register FIRs online in cases of motor vehicle theft and other thefts, which may have increased the number of criminal cases under these heads. This makes it statistically non-comparable with other cities where online registration is not available," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajan Bhagat.

Another officer said people file complaints online even for petty things they have lost. These are also included in the total number of cases registered by the police and where police cannot do anything, the officer added.