Crime graph rose by 22% in Chandigarh; three-fold rise in cases against elderly: NCRB report
As per the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 3,254 cases were registered across police stations in the city in 2020. The figure dipped by 8% to 2,995 in 2021. The following year, in 2022, the figure rose by 22% at 3,658 cases. In 2022, Chandigarh witnessed registration of 3,658 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLLs)- the highest in three years.
In 2022, the union territory of Chandigarh witnessed registration of 3,658 cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLLs)- the highest in three years.

As per the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 3,254 cases were registered across police stations in the city in 2020. The figure dipped by 8% to 2,995 in 2021. The following year, in 2022, the figure rose by 22% at 3,658 cases.
While the number of crimes registered against women recorded a dip from the previous year and crimes against children remained almost the same (a decrease in 10 cases), Chandigarh witnessed a rise in economic offences with the number of cases doubling from the previous year. There is also an 80% increase in registration of cybercrime cases in 2022 as compared to 2021.
“Chandigarh has free registration of cases. Unlike states, we register FIRs readily in the UT and then investigate. Registration of cases is not an indication of rising crime but of a fair policing system. Crime in the city is very much under control and statistics in no way can indicate that crime is rising,” said UT senior superintendent of police Kanwardeep Kaur.
Crime against women sees a dip but rape cases record slight increase: Out of the total 78 cases of rape registered against women in 2022, 48 (61% of the total) were minor girls. In 2021, 74 rape cases were registered in the city against 60 in 2020. However, they were lower than the 112 cases reported in 2019, before the pandemic. While 21 rape victims were between 12 and 16 years of age, another 21 were in the 16 to 18 age brackets. Six rape victims were below 12 years of age, including two toddlers aged below two years.
With a total of 969 registered cases of crimes against women in the last three years, crimes against women have recorded a dip from the previous year as against 343 cases registered in 2021, the total cases registered in this category in 2022 is 325. There are a whopping 112 cases of abduction of women registered in 2022. As per the report, there are 42 registered cases of sexual harassment of women (outraging modesty) involving 10 cases where victims are minors.
Crime against children: With 224 cases registered of crimes against children in 2022, the figure has slightly dipped from 2021 when 234 cases were reported. While one child was murdered, a whopping 115 went missing with the police registering cases of kidnapping on the basis of complaints. Ten cases were registered of outraging modesty of minor girls.
Crime against senior citizens: As many as 22 senior citizens (over 60 years of age) fell prey to different crimes in 2021 while the number of senior citizens who fell to criminals was 74 in 2022. At least 61 senior citizens out of 74, including men and women, fell prey to forgery, cheating and cyber related crimes. Other senior citizens fell prey to snatchers, burglars etc.
Economic offences doubled: From 156 cases in 2020 to 178 in 2021 and 305 in 2022, white collar crime in the city of Chandigarh recorded a 95% increase as per the NCRB report. The maximum number of cases registered by the EOW are of cheating, forgery and fraud. The maximum number of cheating cases (95) have been reported when the loss incurred is between ₹1 to 10 lakh followed by less than 1 lakh (92 cases). As many as 62 cases are registered when the loss is between ₹10 to 50 lakh while cases involving forgery of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore is 25. Another 26 cases have been registered when the forgery amount is between ₹1 to 10 crore while one case has been registered when the forgery amount is between ₹25 to 50 crore.
Cybercrimes register an increase: From 17 cases in 2020 to 15 in 2021, the number of cybercrime cases switched to 27 in 2022 thus recording an increase of 80% in a year.
