The ugly side of ‘City Beautiful’: Chandigarh’s crime rate surpasses national average

The City Beautiful is staring at an ugly reality as Chandigarh has recorded a steep rise in serious crimes and suicides in 2023, with its per capita crime rate crossing the national average.

The NCRB’s Crime in India 2023 report, released on Tuesday, reveals that in categories ranging from murder and rape to theft, kidnapping, dowry deaths, cyber offences and even suicides, Chandigarh is punching far above its demographic weight.

Among the major crimes, the city reported 19 murders last year. While this number is dwarfed by Delhi’s 497 cases, the per-lakh murder rate of Chandigarh remains higher than in smaller Union Territories such as Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir.

Even more disturbing are the 124 cases of rape registered in a city with a population of barely 12 lakh. The number of kidnappings and abductions stood at 64, including cases of minors being taken away for exploitation and women abducted for marriage. Social evils continued to leave their mark, with 14 dowry deaths and 125 cases of outraging the modesty of women.

Theft remains the city’s single largest crime head, with a staggering 1,892 cases, while burglary added another 279 to the tally and extortion or blackmail 14 more.

In all, the NCRB noted that Chandigarh recorded 385 violent crime cases, giving it a crime rate of 31.2 per lakh population — just above the national average of 31.1. Delhi, by contrast, logged a violent crime rate of 51.5, while Puducherry and J&K stood far lower at 14.9 and 17.9, respectively.

Crimes against women and children account for a worrying share of the UT’s profile. Women faced 124 rapes, 125 assaults and 14 dowry deaths in 2023. Children were victims in 1,180 cases, ranging from kidnapping and trafficking to foeticide and even infanticide, crimes rarely reported elsewhere but still present in Chandigarh’s records. Experts point to this combination of urban pressures and social practices as particularly toxic.

The NCRB also shows a steady rise in economic and cyber offences in the city. Cases of forgery, cheating and fraud remained high, while cybercrime complaints grew in step with the national surge of 39 per cent. Most of these cases in Chandigarh were filed under Section 66 of the IT Act, covering computer-related offences such as hacking and identity theft.

Perhaps the most sobering statistic in the report relates to suicides. Chandigarh recorded 409 suicide deaths in 2023, translating into a suicide rate of 28.7 per lakh population — more than double the national average of 12.4. The city’s rate is also higher than Delhi (21.2), Puducherry (20.5) and J&K (9.3). Nearly 70 per cent of the victims were men, with family disputes, academic stress and unemployment among the leading drivers.

“Chandigarh’s high suicide rate is a silent epidemic. Behind the numbers are pressures of urban isolation, academic stress and job insecurity,” said psychiatrist Dr Radhika Singh.

Experts say the data tells a story of both scale and failure. “The NCRB data shows Chandigarh has a dual challenge: high urban theft rates and rising crimes against women. What’s more worrying is that our chargesheeting rate lags at just 57 per cent, compared to India’s 74 per cent. That gap emboldens criminals,” observed a senior retired UT police official.

Local criminologist RS Sohal put it more bluntly: “Chandigarh needs to act now. Else, its ‘City Beautiful’ tag risks being overshadowed by a ‘City Unsafe’ reality.”

When compared to national figures, Chandigarh’s conviction and chargesheeting rates appear especially weak: India averaged 74.1 per cent chargesheeting and around 30 per cent convictions, while Chandigarh lagged with just 57.2 per cent chargesheeting and 26 per cent convictions.

The NCRB data makes it clear that Chandigarh is safer than Delhi in absolute terms, but fares worse than most other Union Territories in both crime and suicide rates.