Crime rate in Ladakh lowest in state

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 18

The land of high passes across the Himalayan wall, Ladakh region has emerged as a safe destination for tourists with fewer crimes recorded over the past years.

Ladakh’s two districts — Leh and Kargil, where tourism has become the mainstay of local economy — have recorded least number of cases of crime during the last four years in Jammu and Kashmir, as per police records.

According to the data compiled by the State Crime Record Bureau, two murder cases were registered in Leh and Kargil districts in 2014, one in 2013 and three each in 2012 and 2011. No case of attempt to murder was registered in the two districts in the last year.

In a country where, according to the National Crime Record Bureau, 2.84 cases of rape were reported every hour in 2012, Ladakh has registered eight rape cases in 2014, two in 2013, four each in 2012 and 2011.

The Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region are located across the Himalayan wall and its surface connectivity with the rest of the state remains disrupted during winter as heavy snowfall blocks the only entry and exit route via the Zojil La.

The region was opened for tourism in 1974 and recorded a tourist arrival of 527 in the first year. Since then, Ladakh has witnessed a steady increase in the footfall reaching a mark of 1,78,042 in 2011.

Kargil district remained the least crime-affected district in the state with a mere 105 cases of crime registered in the district in 2014 out of which 67 were related to road accidents.

In 2013, it registered 108 cases out of which 63 were road accidents, 107 in 2012, out of which 50 were road accidents and 114 in 2011, out of which 60 were linked to road accidents.

In 2014, the district registered no cases of dacoity, cheating, criminal breach of trust, counterfeit currency, dowry death, culpable homicide, molestation, eve teasing, assault on public servants, arson, robbery and communal rights.

Leh district registered 162 cases of crime in 2014 out of which 103 were related to road accidents while in 2013, it recorded 159 cases out of which 105 were linked to road accidents.

In 2014, Leh district registered no cases of dacoity, criminal break of trust, counterfeit currency, dowry deaths, cruelty by husband, culpable homicide, eve teasing, arson, robbery, and communal riots, the data shows.