NEW DELHI: In a first, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be collating data on cases of suicide attempts and abetment to suicide matters registered across the country.
This will be part of the NCRB's 2017 Crime in India (CII) report, which is likely to be released in next few months, according to top sources in the government. At present, there is no national data on suicide attempts made in the country. Attempting suicide is no longer a crime in India as earlier this year the health ministry notified the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 that decriminalises it.
Though NCRB maintains statistics on abetment to suicide cases related to women and children, there is no centralized data on abetment to suicide matters related to men and transgenders.
Government sources told TNIE that elaborate data on not just these two categories but more than 20 Indian Penal Code offences will also be introduced in the 2017 NCRB report.
For instance, under the category of "offences affecting the human body", category of deaths due to negligence (304-A IPC) will be broadened, said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
Though the 2016 NCRB report provided the total number of death by negligence cases and the state-wise break up of such cases, there was not much data on deaths caused due to different kinds of negligence. A total of 1,40,215 such cases were recorded in 2016.
In the 2016 NCRB report, under the category of "causing death by negligence", there were only two sub-categories--- "deaths due to rash/negligent driving" and "deaths due to other negligence". This time, detailed data will be provided under various categories that were earlier covered under "deaths due to other negligence".
Similarly, the category of crimes under "rioting" is going to be further classified by NCRB. In 2016, a total of 61,974 cases of rioting were recorded.
NCRB, the Union Home Ministry's wing that tabulates and analyses crime data from across the country every year, is now widening its scope and ambit
What will change:
*The 2017 NCRB report will widen its ambit of data collection and will cover more offences and special laws
* More than 20 Indian Penal Code offences, such as abetment to suicide matters, will now be introduced in the 2017 NCRB report.
*Around 30 special laws, which were earlier not covered in details, will be covered widely in the report
*Several existing categories such as "deaths due to negligence" and "rioting cases" will also be further classified
Centralized data on abetment to suicide matters related to men and transgenders will be included
For the first time, nationwide data on crimes committed under Child Labour Act, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, Cinematograph Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, Food Safety Act, Chit Funds Act etc will be recorded by NCRB, said another senior government official.
New categories under 304-A IPC:
Some new categories that will be introduced under 304-A IPC are deaths due hit and run accident cases, deaths due to negligence related to rail accidents, deaths due to medical negligence, deaths due to negligence of civic bodies etc.
New categories on rioting:
In the last report, detailed data on rioting cases were provided under eight categories but this time, rioting cases will be classified under 17 categories. Some new categories would be rioting due to land disputes, rioting cases related to attack on government offices, rioting due to family enmity/ family rivalries etc, sources said.