A total of 1,404 murder cases were registered in 2022 in karnataka according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data.
The data by Police cites sudden quarrels, revenge, enmity, electoral gain, civil and property disputes as the major motives behind murders in the state.
Of the 1084 murders reported in the state till October, 75 were due to sudden quarrel, 58 due to revenge and enmity while 46 were due to personal vendetta and 24 due to property disputes while a majority were because of unknown causes. Bangalore city reported the most number of murders in the state with a total of 16 murder cases in October.
D Devraja, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East said “There has been an increase in murder cases which do not stem from any long pending issues. Most number of these cases is due to sudden rage and anger.”
As per the crime review report of the Karnataka police 112 murder cases were reported in the state in October 2023. The murder cases have risen from the last month. In September, 93 such cases were registered in the state. While in August only nine murder cases were reported.
Moreover, 2447 cases under Section 307 of IPC for attempt to murder were reported in the state till October.
According to latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, an average of 82 people were murdered daily across India in 2021, while more than 11 kidnappings were reported every single hour during the year.
Murders are divided into conscious murders and murders that are the outburst of sudden uncontrollable urges. The Indian Penal Code deals with murder cases under two sections. Under Section 302, punishment for murder includes the death penalty or life imprisonment with a fine. While Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting murder), punishment includes imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of ten years and fine or rigorous imprisonment depending on the gravity of the offence.
Several cases of murders were reported in Bangalore city in the last few months. From a senior government officer, Prathima KS who was killed at her home to a cop who murdered his wife on doubt of cheating.
Advocate Chaitra, a practicing lawyer in Bangalore said “There has been a sharp rise in violent crimes across the country. Revenge comes across as one the biggest reasons behind such crimes. Apart from social, psychological and other factors, the fact that it takes a long time to bring justice to the victims, makes the criminal minds stronger.”
Research by Avicenna Journal suggests that the collective quarrel and violence due to inability to control anger were the major factors to commit murder.
