CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has recorded 483 murders in the first four months of 2025 against 501 during the same period last year. The monthly average of murder cases, which stood at 161 in 2012, dropped to 130 in 2024 and to 120 this year, Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal said in a release.
The police attribute this trend to focused action against ani-social elements and rise in convictions. In 2024, as many as 242 history-sheeters were convicted, the highest in 12 years, with 150 of them receiving jail term of 10 years or more. In the first four months of 2025, 87 offenders were convicted in 52 cases, compared to 48 during the same period last year, the release said.
A key strategy the department adopted is the identification and fast-tracking of cases. A total of 376 cases are under close watch in 2025.
Other major steps include the deployment of DARE (drive against rowdy elements) officers at the station level, focused surveillance inside prisons and tighter monitoring by the organised crime intelligence unit (OCIU), the release said. Police have also re-categorised history-sheeters based on current activity, cutting A+ and A category rowdies by over 50% to enable more focused monitoring.
Preventive detention has also increased. In 2024, a record 3,645 history-sheeters were detained under the Goondas Act, the highest in over a decade. The OCIU alone has issued 4,460 life threat alerts since 2021, helping avert 326 murders.
Revenge and rowdy murders have steadily declined, from 35 in early 2021 to 18 (January-April) in 2025, which is the lowest in the last five years, the statement said.