India recorded a total of 28,522 murder cases in 2022, an average of 78 killings every day or more than three every hour, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The number of murder cases, however, came down from 29,272 in 2021 and 29,193 in 2020, the report titled “Crime in India-2022” showed.

Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of FIRs of murder at 3,491 in 2022 followed by Bihar (2,930), Maharashtra (2,295), Madhya Pradesh (1,978), Rajasthan (1,834), and West Bengal (1,696), data by the government agency showed.

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According to the NCRB, Sikkim (9), Nagaland (21), Mizoram (31), Goa (44), and Manipur (47) were the states with the least number of murder cases in 2022.

Among Union Territories, Delhi reported 509 cases of murder in 2022 followed by Jammu and Kashmir (99), Puducherry (30), Chandigarh (18), Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu (16), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (7), Ladakh (5) and Lakshadweep (Zero).

95.4 per cent of victims of murder were adults.

Of the total victims, 8,125 were female, while men constituted about 70 per cent. Nine third-gender persons were also among the murder victims last year.

Motives Behind Murder Cases In India

‘Disputes’ with 9,962 cases was the motive in the highest number of murder cases in 2022, the data showed.

Maharashtra recorded the highest number of cases of disputes at 1,130, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,045), Bihar (980), Madhya Pradesh (726) and Uttar Pradesh (710).

After disputes, ‘personal vendetta or enmity’ was on the list with as many as 3,761 such cases reported last year. Bihar (804), Madhya Pradesh (364) and Karnataka (353) topped that list.

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According to the NCRB data, dowry, witchcraft, child/human sacrifice, communal/religious, casteism, political reason, class conflict, honour killing, and love affairs were the other motives.

Family disputes, illicit relationships, extremism/insurgency, robberies, gang rivalry, property/land disputes, and petty quarrels were also the motives behind the murders in 2022.

Two shooters, who killed Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi, the chief of the right-wing group Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, have been identified by the Rajasthan Police. The accused shot him multiple times from point-blank range yesterday in his house in Jaipur while having tea with him.

The police have formed multiple teams to find the accused and have announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh each for any information that can help them arrest the accused.

Director General of Police, Umesh Mishra, formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the murder, which has sparked tensions in the state. The supporters of the Rajput leader have called a Rajasthan bandh today after he was shot dead in his home. 

His supporters blocked the Shipra Path road outside the hospital and demanded that the accused be arrested immediately. Besides Jaipur, protests also erupted in Churu, Udaipur, Alwar and Jodhpur districts.

The victim had a criminal record in the Gogameri police station in Rajasthan and had around 30 cases filed against him. He was acquitted in several cases.

Rohit Godara, a gangster closely associated with the gangs of Goldie Brar and Lawrence Bishnoi, has taken responsibility for the murder in a Facebook post. Rohit Godara earlier threatened Sukhdev Godara and the Rajpur leader had filed a complaint against the gangster, police sources told NDTV.

Canada-based gangster Brar is a wanted criminal by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and various states of the country. He is also wanted for the murder of Punjabi singer Siddhu Moosewala.

Gogamedi and two of his associates suffered bullet injuries in the attack. They were rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. One of the attackers was also shot dead by Gogamedi’s aides during a gunfight, police said.

Shock has gripped Railways colony at Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh after a doctor working with Railways allegedly murdered his wife and two children and then died by suicide. Dr Arun Kumar, an eye specialist working as a medical officer with Railways, was posted at Modern Rail Coach Factory in Rae Bareli. He had been suffering from depression, police have found.

Dr Kumar, a resident of Mirzapur, lived at the Railways quarters in Rae Bareli with his wife and two children. They were last seen on Sunday. When they could not be reached for the next two days, the doctor’s colleagues went to his home. When there was no response to the bell and knocks, they broke open the door. Inside were the bodies of the doctor, his wife Archana, daughter Adiva (12) and son Aarav (4). Police were informed and top officers of the district reached the spot.

A hammer, blood stains and drug injections were found at the crime scene. According to police, the doctor administered drugs to his wife and children to make them conscious. Then killed them with blows to their heads. The doctor first tried to slit his wrists. When that did not work, he died by hanging. “This is what we have gathered so far. The post-mortem will reveal more,” Rae Bareli SP Alok Priyadarshi said.

Kamal Kumar Das, a neighbour, said the locality was in shock after the incident. “He (Dr Kumar) was very nice to his patients and to others. There must be some family problem, so this happened,” he said.

Lucknow Range IG Tarun Gauba reached the spot after the incident. The senior police officer said they have received information from some neighbours and colleagues that Dr Kumar was given to bouts of aggression. “We have heard he would often have angry exchanges with people. We are looking into all angles,” he said.