Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai saw more murders than Mumbai in 2019, says NCRB report

Dubbed the country's underworld capital and the most populous city, one may think Mumbai's underbelly accounts for the highest number of murders in the country.

But statistics on crime in metros say otherwise: the country capital Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai surpass the western metropolis in murders.

Altogether, 19 metros with a population of over 20 lakh recorded 2,022 murders last year compared to 1,939 in 2018 and 1,976 in 2017.

Delhi topped the list with 505 murder cases in 2019 followed by Bengaluru (204) and Chennai (172) while Mumbai was placed fourth with 168 cases. Only four of these cities had more than 100 murder cases. The four metros alone accounted for 52.4% of the total murders reported in the 19 metros.

Among the cities, Mumbai has a population of 1.85 crore people followed by Delhi (1.63 crore), Chennai (86.96 lakh) and Bengaluru (84.99 lakh), according to the Census 2011.

The latest Crime in India 2019 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that seven out of the 19 metros showed a decline in murder cases while the rest either witnessed a rise in such incidents or had the same number as in 2018.

Bengaluru was the only metro among the big four that registered a dip in murder cases last year compared to 2018. For the past two years, Bengaluru has seen a decline in murder cases from 235 in 2017 and 218 in 2018.

Delhi, however, saw a sharp rise from 400 in 2017 and 416 in 2018. For Chennai, the rise was from 154 in 2017 and 172 the next year. Mumbai too saw a rise from 127 in 2017 and 164 in 2018.

When it comes to motive, personal vendetta topped the list for Bengaluru with 106 murders while 42 murders were due to petty quarrel.

For the other three cities, disputes were the main cause for murders —Delhi 125, Chennai 90 and Mumbai 84. In Bengaluru, 60 murders took place due to dispute, including petty quarrels.

In Delhi, 78 cases were due to personal vendetta while it was 45 for Chennai and 13 for Mumbai.

Illicit relationship led to 13 murders in Bengaluru while three were due to love affairs. Chennai has the highest number of 28 murders due to illicit relations while Delhi was a close second with 26 such cases.

Among the victims in Bengaluru, eight were below the age of six years while three each were between 6-12 years and 12-16 years. Four others in the age group of 16-18 years were also killed last year in Bengaluru.