Crime rate down in capital, say police

New Delhi, July 4 : Though there have been 251 murders and 226 cases of rape, the crime rate in the national capital has gone down on the whole in the first six months of this year compared to the previous year, Delhi Police announced here Saturday.

'There is a fall of 7.46 percent in the rate of heinous crimes in Delhi while there is a three percent fall in non-heinous crimes,' Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal said at half-yearly press conference.

During Jan 1-June 30, the number of heinous crime cases registered was 968, compared to 1,046 during the same period last year.

There were 251 cases of murder during the period, down from 266 in the first six months of last year. The capital also witnessed a drop in the number of rape cases during the period with 226 cases recorded till June 30 as compared to 259 last year.

As many as 23,365 cases of non-heinous crimes were registered till June 30, compared to 24,089 last year.

The number of cases of snatching went up from 604 to 684 in the first six months this year. Similarly, there were 5,432 instances of motor vehicle thefts, up from 4,905 case this year.

Dadwal expressed happiness with people's support to police. 'We are happy with people of Delhi for their cooperation and support,' he said.

--IANS