Haryana govt blames Opposition parties for making misleading assertions on crime rise-OxBig News Network

Dismissing Opposition parties’ allegation surrounding the rise in crime in Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Sunday (July 20, 2025) termed the assertion as “misleading and factually baseless”.

In a statement issued here, the State government said that under its ‘Zero Tolerance for Crime’ policy, it has taken significant and effective measures to strengthen law and order in the State, adding that, against previous years, the crime rate has witnessed a marked decline in Haryana.

Terming the remarks surrounding the crime rise in Haryana by Opposition parties “an attempt to spread fear among the public and misguide citizens”, a government spokesperson in the statement said that if the Opposition leaders had objectively compared police data from the year 2004–2014 with that of 2014–2024, they would not have made such irresponsible claims.

Referencing data from the Haryana State Crime Records Bureau, the spokesperson said that during the Congress party regime (2004–2014), the average annual increase in crime was as high as 18.69%. In contrast, during the 2014–2024 period (BJP regime), most crime categories, except snatching, have shown negative growth trends. Murder cases increased from 733 in 2004 to 1,106 in 2014, reflecting a 3.81% annual increase. However, by 2024, the number of murder cases declined to 966, demonstrating a significant drop, said the spokesperson.

From January 1 to June 30, 2025, the State recorded a clear reduction in several major crime categories compared to the same period in 2024. Murder cases decreased by 7%, robbery dropped by 30.13%, snatching incidents reduced by 11.64%, burglary went down by 13.27%, general theft declined by 6.55%, and rape cases fell by 26.14%. There was also a 16.67% drop in kidnapping cases and a 16.90% reduction in molestation and sexual harassment cases. Annual comparisons between 2023 and 2024 also show this downward trend, added the spokesperson.