Nagpur: The Second Capital of Maharashtra has witnessed a concerning rise in economic offences since 2020. According to data released by Nagpur Police in response to an RTI application filed by a local activist, residents have suffered significant financial losses due to these crimes.
• In slightly over four years, Nagpurians have lost a staggering Rs 732.88 crore due to economic offences.
• On average, around 44-45 cases of economic offences are registered in Nagpur each month. This frequency translates to more than one case per day. Financially, this means that citizens are losing over Rs 14.09 crore per month, which is approximately Rs 46 lakh per day.
• Monthly economic offences: 44-45 cases
• Daily economic offences: More than 1 case
• Average monthly loss: Rs 14.09 crore
• Average daily loss: Rs 46 lakh
The increase in economic offences not only highlights the growing threat to financial security in Nagpur but also underscores the need for enhanced measures to protect citizens from such crimes. The substantial financial losses underline the severity of the situation, prompting a call for immediate and effective interventions by law enforcement and financial regulatory bodies.
In the past few years, with the advancement of technology, economic offences are on the rise in Nagpur city and nearby areas. Economic offences comprise various matters including criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating, fraud, counterfeiting etc. As per the data provided by City Police to RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar, there has been a steady rise in the number of economic offences since 2020.
While the number of economic offences cases was 457 in 2020, it rose to 660 in 2023. In the first four months of the current year, 233 such cases have been registered. These many cases involved a whopping Rs 732.88 crore. Though the duration from January 2020 to April 2024 for which Kolarkar sought information for saw Nagpurians losing this huge amount, the highest amount involved was Rs 287.80 crore in 2023.
Of the total 2,338 cases registered from January 2020 to April 2024, the amount involved in 157 cases was more than Rs 50 lakh. Though more than 450 cases have been registered every year since 2020, the number of convictions has been very dismal. In 2020, a total 457 cases were registered but only one conviction was reported. Similarly, in 2021, only six convictions were reported though the number of cases registered rose to 488.
Total 500 cases were registered in 2022, and only three convictions were reported the same year. In 2023, a total of 660 cases were registered. But, only five convictions were reported. The number of convictions reflected the convictions in old cases (registered earlier). As against total 15 convictions during the period for which Kolarkar sought information from City Police, there were 250 acquittals.
The number of acquittals is over 16 times the number of convictions, when it comes to economic offences! The highest number of acquittals was 68, reported in 2022. It was followed by 65 acquittals in 2023, which was also the year when the highest number of cases and amount involved were reported. It is not that the cops were not able to detect the economic offences cases. As against the total 2,338 cases registered, 1,521 were cracked. The detection was slightly over 65% as compared to cases registered.
