Mamata fails to send crime data to NCRB

Figures of accidental deaths, suicides reach Bureau but West Bengal administration skips crime report

When it comes to crime in West Bengal, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has not received the 2019 crime records from the Mamata Banerjee administration. At a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC), along with other opposition parties like the Congress, are taking to the streets against the BJP-led Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh over the alleged gangrape and murder in Hathras, importantly, the BJP has been raising the issue of rising crimes in West Bengal.

Though no one from the state administration confirmed why the data for crime for the previous year was not sent to the Centre, sources said the COVID-19 pandemic led to the delay. Government officials were busy handling the unprecedented health situation that has hit the globe in a century. The state missed the deadline of June 30 due to the pandemic and sent it in July. Data from other states were already collected by then and corroborated by the NCRB.

For West Bengal, the 2018 figures were used. But what is the scenario for crime in Mamata’s state in 2019?

According to Statista, the German online portal for statistics, "The number of death sentences imposed by courts in West Bengal in India was 8 in 2019. Over 102 capital punishment verdicts were handed out in total across the nation in 2019. West Bengal and UP were the leading states in terms of the number of death row convicts across the south Asian nation.”

This might be some relief to the ruling TMC government that has been questioned over the 2019 crime figures in the state. However, another question is, when it comes to the NCRB data of accidental deaths and suicides (ADSI) in India, updated in September 2020, the figures for West Bengal for 2019 have been included.

When it comes to the ADSI data, WB did not feature in top 10 for highest deaths in road accidents in 2019, as per NCRB. The highest deaths due to road accidents was reported in UP followed by MP in the same year. West Bengal is 11th on the list of the number of deaths due to road accidents in the country in 2019 going by the report.

This raises another question if the state managed to send in the ADSI data on time despite the COVID-19 pandemic? Then why the delay when it comes to data on crimes in West Bengal? Is the government trying to conceal figures that their reason for not sending data on time for crime in WB can be taken as a valid enough reason?

At a time when the state goes to poll next year, the Mamata administration is trying to show the state has handled crime and the overall law and order situation effectively. Though records on crime would be part of the valid proof of the state’s claims, which are missing from the NCRB records.