Major crimes fall, violence rises in Jan-Sep

The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that major crimes declined from January to September this year compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, incidents of violence have increased in the first nine months of this year compared with the whole of 2025, according to studies by the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS).

According to home ministry statistics, the major categories of crime, including murder, dacoity, robbery, violence against women and children, abduction and rioting, fell between January and September, according to a media release from the home ministry.

Murder cases totalled 2,659 in the nine months from January to September this year, compared with 2,913 during the same period last year, a decline of 254 (about 9%).

Dacoity cases dropped from 538 in the first nine months of 2025 to 387 this year, a fall of 151 cases, or about 28% and burglary fell from 1,483 to 1,374 (109 fewer, about 7%).

Rioting saw the sharpest proportional decline, from 62 incidents to 17, a drop of 45, or roughly 73%.

Violence against women fell from 9,262 cases to 8,178, a reduction of 1,084 (about 12%). Child abuse cases declined from 3,591 to 3,151, down 440 (about 12%). Abductions dropped from 812 to 769, a fall of 43 (about 5%).

According to the HRSS, a number of violent crimes have increased in the first nine months of this year compared with the whole of 2025.

The categories of violence recorded by the rights organisation include political clashes, mob crime, attacks on journalists, workers, and minorities, and abuse of women and children.

At least 1,013 incidents of political violence occurred in the first nine months of this year, with 73 people killed and more than 6,473 injured, said the HRSS.

From January to December 2025, 914 incidents of political violence occurred, killing 133 people and injuring 7,511.

The HRSS recorded at least 398 incidents of mob violence and lynching in the first nine months of 2026, in which 187 people were killed and 401 injured. In the 12 months of 2025, at least 292 incidents of mob violence and lynching took place, killing 168 people and wounding 248 others.

In the first nine months of this year, 518 journalists were harassed or attacked in 288 incidents, while in the whole of 2025, at least 539 journalists were killed, tortured or harassed in 318 attacks.

At least 56 attacks were carried out on minority communities in the first nine months of this year, injuring 62 people. Twenty-one temples, 20 idols and 47 homes were attacked or vandalised, and four land-grab incidents were documented. One woman from an indigenous community was gang-raped.

In the 12 months of last year, at least 28 attacks were carried out on minority communities, resulting in one death and 16 injuries. Six temples, 37 idols and 38 homes were attacked and vandalised, and there were five cases of land grabbing.

The number of attacks this year was double that of last year.

In the first nine months of this year, 582 incidents of abuse of workers occurred, killing 145 workers from the formal and informal sectors and injuring 1,263 others, while the number of such incidents last year was 359, in which 96 were killed and 1,021 wounded.

In the first nine months of this year, the HRSS revealed, at least 2,404 women and girls were abused. At least 657 were raped, and 392 of them were under 18 years of age.