Chandigarh sees marginal dip in heinous offences, leads in police response time

With snatching incidents sharply down, emergency response times the fastest in the country and enforcement widened across drugs, cyber fraud and organised crime, Chandigarh Police posted a strong all-round performance in 2025, even as heinous offences registered a marginal decline and a high majority of cases were solved compared with the previous year.

Director General of Police Dr Sagar Preet Hooda said sustained intelligence-led policing, technology-driven investigations and stronger preventive measures helped improve public safety while expanding the police action footprint across critical crime areas.

Heinous crimes dipped from 418 cases in 2024 to 412 in 2025, a reduction of six cases, even as 88.6 per cent of such offences were solved.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kanwardeep Kaur said street crime saw a sharper turnaround. Snatching cases fell by nearly 24 per cent, from 131 in 2024 to 100 this year, following intensified patrolling, cordon-and-search operations, surveillance of repeat offenders and increased nakas at vulnerable points.

Overall registered crime rose marginally from 4,063 cases in 2024 to 4,305 in 2025, a rise police attributed largely to stepped-up enforcement under special and preventive laws. Action under local special laws increased from 458 cases last year to 621 in 2025, signalling what the police described as “wider nets and zero tolerance” rather than a spike in criminality.

The crackdown on narcotics remained a key focus. NDPS cases jumped from 90 to 149 in a year, with 235 accused arrested. The police seized large quantities of heroin, cocaine, ganja, charas, poppy husk and synthetic drugs, along with cash exceeding Rs 41 lakh, vehicles and gold and silver jewellery. Four habitual drug suppliers were placed under preventive detention under the PIT-NDPS Act, while properties worth about Rs 8.79 crore linked to drug proceeds were attached.

Several major international and inter-state drug syndicates were busted during the year, including modules with links to Pakistan, Africa and other states, involving drone-based smuggling, courier routes and encrypted communication platforms. These operations led to high-value recoveries and arrests of foreign nationals and local operatives.

Chandigarh Police also intensified action against organised crime, gangs and terror modules. Members of the Happy Passia terror module were arrested with pistols and an improvised explosive device, while a Babbar Khalsa operative was nabbed following leads from terror networks. A sharpshooter and arms supplier linked to a Haryana-based gang was also arrested, helping avert possible retaliatory violence. Arms Act cases rose from 77 in 2024 to 100 in 2025.

Cyber crime enforcement expanded significantly alongside public awareness drives. During the year, 150 cyber fraud cases were registered and 147 accused arrested across multiple states. Police froze or blocked Rs 11.21 crore of cheated money, blocked hundreds of suspicious mobile numbers and conducted raids across high-risk regions. Major breakthroughs included the busting of transnational “digital arrest” syndicates, fake trading platforms and high-value impersonation scams.

Immigration fraud emerged as another major enforcement area. The police registered 70 FIRs against 73 unauthorised immigration firms for violating licensing norms and booked 129 cheating cases against 92 firms for duping aspirants with false promises of overseas jobs and visas. Several high-profile cases, including a Rs 4-crore immigration fraud racket operated by a young couple, were successfully worked out.

A significant institutional milestone during the year was Chandigarh becoming the first State/UT to fully implement the three new criminal laws that came into force in July 2024. Since then, over 5,100 FIRs have been registered under the new framework, including nearly 2,500 e-FIRs. Police filed over 4,500 charge sheets, secured convictions in 217 of 244 decided cases -- an 89 per cent conviction rate -- and reduced the average time to conviction to about 110 days through technology-enabled investigations, online prosecution and enhanced forensic support.

On the public service front, Chandigarh Police set a national benchmark by recording the fastest average emergency response time in India at 5.6 minutes in 2025, improving upon its own previous record of 6.31 minutes. According to Union Home Ministry data, this placed Chandigarh well ahead of the national average of 18.61 minutes.

Community policing and preventive outreach remained integral to the year’s strategy. Through programmes such as Samavesh, Cyber Swachhta Mission, SWAYAM self-defence camps and anti-drug campaigns, police reached tens of thousands of students, women, senior citizens and youth across the city, combining enforcement with awareness and engagement.

Hooda said: “Our priority is to prevent crime, dismantle organised and emerging threats and ensure swift justice through technology and community partnership.”