With 10 per cent of India's total crime, UP tops list

With registration of over three lakh FIRs, Uttar Pradesh topped the crime list in the country, followed by Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau for 2017.

Overall, 30,62,579 cases were registered across the country in 2017, up from 29,75,711 in 2016 and 29,49,400 in 2015, according to the annual data which was released on Monday night after a delay of more than one year.

UP, also the most populous state, registered 3,10,084 cases during the year and had the highest share of 10.1 per cent in the country, it stated. The data showed an upward trend for straight third year in UP, which had recorded 2,82,171 cases in 2016 and 2,41,920 in 2015.

Maharashtra, which accounted for 9.4 per cent of crime in the country, registered 2,88,879 FIRs in 2017, 2,61,714 in 2016 and 2,75,414 in 2015, according to the NCRB.

Madhya Pradesh registered 2,69,512 FIRs in 2017 and accounted for 8.8 per cent overall cases. It had lodged 2,68,614 cases in 2015 and 2,64,418 in 2016, the data showed.

The NCRB said certain states like UP and Delhi have provided citizen-friendly service of online registration of FIR under certain category of offences like 'vehicle theft' and 'other thefts'.

"As this may have increased the crime reporting under such heads in these states, they become statistically non-comparable with other states not having such online registration facility," it added.

Fourth on the list was Kerala which registered 2,35,846 cases, while Delhi followed it closely with 2,32,066 cases, it stated.

Bihar, which had 1,80,573 cases in 2017 and 5.9 per cent share in crimes, stood sixth on the list, while West Bengal was seventh with 1,63,999 cases and 5.4 per cent share, the data stated.

The NCRB, under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country.

The IPC is the official criminal code of the country and covers all substantive aspects of criminal law.