In 2015, Half Of Political Riot Cases From Kerala; Most Communal Cases, Haryana, Most Victims, Karnataka

All cases of rioting except that of religious nature rose in 2015, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

While the most cases of communal rioting were reported in Haryana (201), Karnataka ranked second with 163 cases. Although with lesser cases of riots, Karnataka had almost an equal number of victims (which the NCRB classifies as dead or injured). While Haryana bore the loss of 200 victims, Karnataka had 203. What increased the number for Haryana and Karnataka were the clashes in Ballabhgarh (Haryana) and Belgaum (Karnataka).

The states of Kerala and Bihar registered a high number of riot cases of a non-communal nature.

In terms of political riot cases, Kerala registered higher numbers than any other state, accounting for over half of India’s cases. It also registered the country’s highest rate of riots with 164 riot cases per million population, followed by Bihar (129) and Karnataka (126).

Bihar reported the most number of agrarian riot cases (1,156), accounting for 43 percent of cases in the country. It also recorded more rioting cases (13,311) in absolute terms than any other state in 2015, followed by Maharashtra (8,336), Uttar Pradesh (6,813) and Karnataka (6,602).

Overall, however, the total number of communal rioting cases have reduced in 2015, dropping by a third from 1,227 cases in 2014 to 789. Even the number of people who either died or were injured saw a decline, from 2,001 in 2014 to 1,174 in 2014, registering a fall of 40 percent.

With inputs from IANS