Odisha Min: Rape, murder cases increased, but crime rate not alarming

Bhubaneswar: The number of rape and murder cases in Odisha increased in 2018 when compared with the year before, Minister of State for Home D S Mishra said in the Assembly on Monday.

He, however, refused to agree with the opposition's assertion that the overall crime rate in the state has reached alarming proportions.

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The minister, while replying to a written question of Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra, said 1,378 cases of murder were registered in Odisha in 2018, a jump from 1,267 the year before.

The state has recorded 563 murders up to May-end 2019, he stated during the Zero Hour.

Similarly, the number of rape cases also increased to 2,502 in 2018 from 2,221 in 2017. In 2019, a total of 937 rape cases have been recorded till May, he noted.

A statement annexed with the ministers reply said 17,528 cases of rape and 13,246 murders have been registered in Odisha between 2010 and May, 2019.

The Congress Legislature Party leader, in his written question, suggested that crime in the state has reached "alarming" level.

The state minister, however, said, "It is not true that crime rate has alarmingly increased in the state."

The Congress leader, on his part, warned that delay in providing justice to people could lead to anarchy in the state, with people taking law in their hands.

"There has been a rise in cases of murder and rape, but the minister is not ready to accept it as alarming. There have been 300 more rape cases in 2018 in comparison to 2017.

When will the state treat them as alarming?" he asked.

The opposition leader, a former law minister, also alleged that the police were not taking necessary action against criminals, thereby encouraging unlawful activities.

"Our (opposition's) questions and concerns go unheard in the assembly. Are we talking to walls instead of the government?" he said, seeking a clarification from the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

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(PTI)