India tops world murder count: report

According to a recent government report, India has emerged as the country with highest number of crime records.

Five million cases of crime, including murder, rape and drug offences, were reported in India in 2007–08, claimed the report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The 32,719 murder cases, registered last year, are double the figure in US and three times more than in Pakistan.

The Indian capital, Delhi, which has seen a number of high–profile cases of crime in the last few years, has recorded a rise of nearly 2% in the number of murders since 2006.

However, taking into account population differences, South Africa emerges as a much more dangerous place, with 65.27 murders per 100,000 people and 115.8 rapes per 100,000 people.

"Most of the murders take place due to passion, sudden provocation, crime related and family disputes,’’ Delhi police spokesman ACP Rajan Bhagat said.

Furthermore the report added India had over 44,159 incidents of sexual offence, 2,70,861 cases of serious assault and 22,814 robbery and violent theft–related incidents.

The data was compiled in 22 countries, which included Australia, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Japan, Canada, England and Wales, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand and Sri Lanka besides others.

The US topped the crime list with 2,31,13,708 total crime related incidents, whereas India registered overall 50,26,337 criminal cases.