Jhapa sees decline in crime

Kathmandu - Incidents of crime have declined in Jhapa district compared to the previous years. As per the the quarterly report of the District Police Office Jhapa, one thousand four hundred and sixty four incidents of crime including homicide and attempted murder were reported in the Fiscal Year 2018/2019.

In the previous fiscal year, 2017/18, one thousand six hundred and eighty seven such incidents were reported in the district. The number of incidents of crime has further decreased in the Fiscal Year 2019/20 with the registration of 1,170 incidents. Out of these incidents, 13 are related to murder and 27 to attempted murder.

Superintendent of Police of the District Police Office Jhapa, Krishna Prasad Koirala, said that out of the 4,321 incidents of crime that took place in the district in the last three years, the incidents related to abuse and indecent behaviour outnumber others in all the fiscal three fiscal years. The number of total incidents of crime registered has decreased by 13.21 per cent in fiscal year 2018/19 compared to fiscal year 2017/18.

Similarly, the number of total incidents of crime registered has gone down by 20 per cent in fiscal year 2019/20 compared to the fiscal year 2018/19. The incidents related to abuse and indecent behaviour registered in the district have also fallen. Police said the number of such incidents have dropped in fiscal year 2018/19 by 45 per cent compared to the fiscal year 2017/18 and by 43 per cent in fiscal year 2019/20 compared to the the fiscal year 2018/19.

The incidents related to drug trafficking and abuse have also declined in fiscal year 2019/20 by six per cent compared to the fiscal year 2018/19. Similarly, other incidents like suicide, rape, death in road accident, human trafficking and polygamy have also decreased. Police explained that the drop in registration of criminal cases is the lockdown imposed for prevention and control of COVID-19, awareness programmes run under the community-police partnership programme, civilian and police collaboration in checking crime, intensified patrolling and police checking, increase in public awareness and effective policing, among others.

According to the report for fiscal year 2019/20, Mechinagar municipality has recorded the highest number of incidents of crime during this period. Two hundred and twenty crimes were registered in Mechinagar municipality in a single fiscal year alone, followed by Damak which registered 174 incidents of crime, Birtamod with 173 incidents, Bhadrapur with 101 incidents, Arjundhara with 60 incidents, Shiva Satakshi with 58 incidents, Gauradaha with 57 incidents and Kankai with 54 incidents.

Eight hundred and ninety seven incidents of crime were registered in the eight municipalities alone during this period in the district. Among the seven rural municipalities in the district, Kamal rural municipality reported the highest number of incidents. It reported 72 incidents of crime in fiscal year 2019/20.