National Crime Records Bureau report shows arson cases had declined in 2020

However, 14 of 35 states recorded an increase in arson incidents in 2020: NCRB data

The Ram Navmi celebrations on Sunday, April 10, were marred by communal clashes in some states. Police reported incidents of stone-pelting and arson in these areas.

On April 16, communal clashes in the Jahangirpuri area of Delhi set the city on high alert again—two years after riots had broken out in the northeastern parts of the capital.

While the latest data on arson incidents is not available, the National Crime Records Bureau report shows that arson incidents had declined in the country in 2020.

However, further analysis by Business Standard shows that some states had reported an increase in arson incidents in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Arson cases are reported under Sections 435, 436 and 438 of the Indian Penal Code, as per the NCRB report.

Fourteen of the 35 states and union territories had recorded a rise in arson cases in 2020, compared to 2019. Among these, Punjab and Puducherry had recorded the highest cases in the last five years, whereas Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Assam had reported the highest arson cases in four years.

Three states accounted for a third of total arson cases in the country in 2020. Of these, Maharashtra alone had a 15 per cent share.

The situation was much grimmer in the case of rioting incidents. NCRB data shows that rioting incidents had increased in the country in 2020, and sectarian, caste and communal nature incidents had also risen.

Analysis shows that 857 cases of communal riots were reported in India in 2020, compared to 440 in 2019, 512 in 2018 and 723 in 2017. In 2016, the country recorded 869 incidents of communal riots. Nearly 61 per cent of the cases of communal riots came from the national capital in 2020.

Besides, Delhi, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh had registered an increase in communal riots compared to 2019, as per NCRB data.

Cases filed for sectarian riots had increased 17 per cent in Bihar and jumped 12-times in Jharkhand. Tamil Nadu had recorded a fourfold rise in incidents of sectarian riots.

Although political riots had reduced, nine states recorded a rise in incidents of political riots. Kerala accounted for 60 per cent of such cases.

Cases of caste riots had increased by 50 per cent in 2020. The number of incidents of caste conflicts leading to riots had tripled in Uttar Pradesh from 37 to 116. Bihar accounted for 28 per cent of the country’s cases. Maharashtra and Bihar were the only other states to record higher incidents of caste conflicts turning to riots than Uttar Pradesh.

The NCRB statistics for 2021 are expected to be released in September this year.