Ram Rajya: Lahaul-Spiti stayed crime free for a decade

One district far away on the mountains has earned the distinction of being perhaps, the only place in the country, which is yet to witness a case of murder, sexual harassment, molestation, robbery etc in the last one decade.

It may sound unreal, but the far-flung district of Lahaul and Spiti in the northern hill state Himachal Pradesh has also not witnessed even a single case of dowry death, forgery, fraud, abduction, dacoity, extortion and criminal conspiracy in the past 10-years.

The ‘zero-crime’ feat in the district presents a picture in contrast to rising cases of sexual harassment, molestation galore across the country. The snow-clad hill district remains cut off from the rest of the world for several months during the winters. The district is sparsely populated, and the peace-loving people of the area walk away with much of the credit of ensuring harmony and crime-free environs.

Officials privy to the demographics and ethos of the Lahaul Spiti, which is thinly inhabited with less than 32,000 people but spread over a massive 14,000 square kilometres of area, say locals have an overwhelming penchant for religious practices.

SSP Lahaul-Spiti, Rajesh Dharmani, talking to DH said people in this vast district are largely peace-loving, but the peace cannot be taken for granted given that a lot of migration is taking place from other states. The few criminal cases that have been registered over the passage of time have resulted in a very high conviction rate which also acts a deterrent.

"Community festivals and deity worship, they believe, keep them away from vices, Rakesh Sharma, former HP-cadre IAS officer Rakesh Sharma," said talking to Deccan Herald.

He said locals engage in agriculture practices during summer months to sustain while in the biting winters, they stay indoors or indulge in winter sports which is seen as a mechanism to route positive energy.

On December, the highest ice-skating artificial rink at an altitude of 3,720 metres was inaugurated in the remote Kaza town in Spiti. The government felt this will not only promote tourism and sports, it will also keep the youth and people involved in the sport directly or indirectly. A 10-day high-altitude training session for ice hockey was also organised towards the fag end of December.

According to official data, no case of rape has been registered in the last five years in the district. While there have been few criminal cases registered, sources maintain that migrant labourers have been involved in some of these cases. As per the data, less than 700 cases were registered in Lahaul-Spiti in the last 19-years since the beginning of 2001.