Unnatural deaths in Delhi see sharp dip in lockdown
Police, hospital data shows the lockdown has witnessed a fall in homicides, accidents
nNEW DELHI: On average, four people die in road accidents in Delhi every day. But between March 23 and April 14, only nine died.
On average, there is one case of murder in Delhi every day. Between March 23 and April 13, there were 13 murders.
These numbers can be credited to the ongoing lockdown. With people asked to stay at home as much as possible, and few vehicles allowed on the streets, all activity, including crimes and accidents, have almost come to a standstill. As a result, the number of unnatural deaths in the city has fallen, according to data from police and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences(aiims).
Delhi Police officers said that the number of murders, road accidents and unidentified bodies being found on the city’s streets have reduced in comparison the period before the lockdown.
On March 22, after the completion of the first day of the voluntary lockdown (Janata curfew) announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 (a ban on assembly of more than four persons). The following morning chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a complete lockdown of the national capital as a measure to contain the spread of Covid-19. On March 24, Modi announced a national lockdown for three weeks starting March 25, which was extended till May 3.
According to police data, between March 1 and 22, there were 41 murders across the city. The number of murders since then (between March 23 and
April 14) is 13.
Additional commissioner of police, Mandeep Randhawa said crime has decreased since the lockdown. “The few murders are not related to any criminals. There are cases of a person murdering his friend or a man involved in a neighbour’s murder. Police are on the roads so crime has decreased.”
Road accident deaths too have seen a steep decline. According to police data, while 44 persons died in accidents between March 1 and 22, the number of dead thereafter (until April 14) is only 9.
Doctors at AIIMS and Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center (JPNATC) confirmed that the number of autopsies at the hospital have reduced. A post mortem is conducted in cases of unnatural deaths such as suicides and suspected murders. Between March 1 and March 22, doctors at AIIMS conducted 130 but after March 23 and till April 14, the did just 81. At JPNATC, the corresponding numbers are 40 and 7 .
Dr Sudhir Gupta, professor and head, department of forensic medicine at AIIMS confirmed the drastic reduction in the number of road accidents and homicides.
Many of the bodies that come in for autopsy in the city’s government hospitals are of unidentified persons found dead on the city’s streets. Most are homeless; some die of a drug overdose; others of illness or starvation; and still others are run over by vehicles.
As per police data, between March 1 and 22, there were 233 such unidentified bodies. The number since then, and till April 14 has reduced to 171. A senior police officer said the number of drug overdose deaths among the homeless has dropped due to the supply chain being snapped because of the lockdown.
Indu Prakash Singh, a member of the state level shelter monitoring committee, set up on the orders of the Supreme Court , said deaths of the homeless have come down because of the government’s efforts to feed them.
“Many of the homeless who have minor infections die because they do not get food. They cannot go out to work, and hence die anonymous deaths. There should be a permanent programme to feed the homeless after the lockdown too.”