Economic offences dip by a third in Kolkata in 2 years

KOLKATA: City cops in 2020 registered 1,817 cases involving economic offences, which was far less less than 2,729 cases registered in 2018, according to NCRB data on all economic offences in the country for 2020.
Of the total cases, 189 pertained to criminal breach of trust, 13 to counterfeiting and 1,615 related to cheating and fraud. Delhi has registered the maximum number of economic offences (4,445) in the country.

No data is available for 2019 as NCRB claimed it had received it late.
The first year of the pandemic — 2020 — has seen the city police probe a criminal breach of trust case that had left the complainant poorer by more than Rs 100 crore. The city cops also registered 18 other cases when the estimated loss ranged between Rs 10 crore and Rs 25 crore. In 450 cases — the highest among the 19 Indian cities that have a population above 20 lakh — the losses were calculated to be above Rs 50 lakh but less than Rs 1 crore.
According to the data, the city had seen a total of 150 cases of criminal breach of trust where money or property loss were involved. Thirty seven of them involved loss of less than Rs 1 lakh, 65 saw cash or property loss of Rs 1 lakh-Rs 10 lakh. While 25 cases saw losses between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, 17 saw losses between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore. Five cases saw the victims lose between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore. The one case above Rs 100 crore is pending with the detective department.
The city police has disposed of 1,560 cases in 2020 while 2,899 cases are pending investigation. The charge sheet rate — 93.7 — is one of the highest in the country. The pendency rate of 65 is on the higher side but better than other Metros like Delhi (80), Chennai (98.5) and Mumbai (85.1).
Police's specialized units together have specialized in investigating these economic offences cases. “The specialization has come through experience and updating oneself with the latest technology. However, 2020 had presented its unique challenges and we had to adapt quickly. In the coming year, our aim is to bring down the pendency rate even further,” said a detective department official.
Earlier this year, Lalbazar had proposed the creation of a new anti-bank fraud police station. Kolkata Police has sought a state government nod to set it up in Lalbazar. If the proposal is accepted, Kolkata will become one of the first cities in India to have a specific police station handling bank frauds. Joint CP (crime) Murlidhar Sharma has confirmed that a proposal has been sent to the state home department.