NEW DELHI: Delhi is on a short fuse with one out of 20 citizens killed, maimed or injured in altercations involving petty matters like a motorcycle grazing someone’s leg or a shopkeeper refusing to serve a customer.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought a report from Police Commissioner B S Bassi on “crime incidents over sudden provocations” involving trivial issues, to prepare an action study to tackle the problem. Delhi Chief Secretary Kewal Kumar Sharma also sought a similar explanation.
A copy of the report accessed by The Sunday Standard states that from January 1, 2015 to October 31, 586 murders were reported in the city. Of these, 84 occurred over small issues where the victims and accused were strangers and the crime was driven by spontaneous anger within a fraction of a second.
Of the 770 incidents of attempt to murder registered, 220 were because of sudden provocation. This year, the city witnessed 2,027 incidents of assault cases, of which 1,534 were over minor issues.
On September 8, locales Sonu and Nand Kishore killed 51-year-old shopkeeper Davender Kumar in Nihar Vihar on the spur of the moment over an arguments on purchases. Similarly, on August 18, 25-year-old Salman was knifed to death outside a shop in Jyoti Nagar after a motorcycle grazed his leg. When he objected, the duo stabbed him and fled.
In almost all such cases, the accused are young. In 94 per cent cases, they are first-time offenders. Delhi Police has asked its personnel to find out the reason for such incidents. It has also asked the Delhi government to involve more “sociologists, psychiatrists and counsellors in schools and hospitals” to stop ‘crime-prone’ teenagers. Among 1,534 cases of assault over petty issues, 30 per cent were related to parking, road rage and other minor disputes. “Two incidents of assault related to parking disputes are reported every day,” said a senior police officer.
The report also stated that the “failing education system in society” is one of the major reasons for rise in such incidents. Government statistics revealed that children from lower middle-class strata are prone to crime and to tackle the situation, it has planned to strengthen the education and rehabilitation system in such areas.