KOCHI: The number of women involved in crimes has gone up significantly in the state. But what should worry the law enforcement bodies more is their increasing role in murders. Data from the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) shows 61 women were arrested in murder cases last year alone, taking their involvement in violent crimes to 8%. In the previous data, it was only 2%. There were another 26 cases last year, in which women were charged for attempt to murder.
“The involvement of women in heinous crime in the state is still low compared to the total number of crimes registered. But it’s worrying that the number of women involved in murder cases is on the rise. The Koodathayi murders (Jolly Joseph kingpin) and the recent Sharon murder case (Greeshma Nair) are examples. If it goes on like this, Kerala will witness a large number of women criminals,” said a top police officer requesting anonymity.
The law enforcement agencies, which are perplexed by the sudden spike, find the influence of social media a reason. “The gap between women and men is getting narrow in modern world. They have equal rights everywhere. This also gives them enough courage and confidence to do anything. Social media also plays a major role, as it gives them easy access. But the number of crimes being committed by women is still lower,” DGP Tomin Thachankary said.
Meanwhile, VACB director and senior police officer Manoj Abraham said the crimes committed by women are noticed easily and are sensationalised. “When we checked the last 15 years’ data, the involvement of women in heinous crimes is almost going in the same direction. But the fact is that some murders committed by women are easily noticed and become sensational. It is too early to say that the number is going up,” he said.