The Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday released state crime statistics for the last nine years amid the Monsoon session of the state Assembly, claiming that the situation has improved considerably under the current regime, PTI reported.

A spokesperson of the home department claimed that there has been a significant drop in criminal cases in comparison to the data of last nine years. He said there was a 74.50% fall in cases of robbery in 2020 as compared to 2016. Similarly, he said there has been a 25.94% fall in rape cases compared to 2013, a 38.74% fall compared to the figures of 2016 and a 28.13% reduction compared to 2019.

The spokesperson said from January 2019 to June 2020, accused have been convicted in 922 cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Five convicts have been sentenced to death and 193 to life imprisonment, he added.

Prashant Kumar, additional director general of police, attributed the decrease in crimes to the fundamental changes brought in by the Adityanath government, The Times of India reported. He said there was complete transparency in postings of police personnel. “In heinous cases of crime, and crimes related to women and children, police are arresting the accused and immediately registering first information reports,” he added. “In the current regime, UP 112 was launched for all contingencies ahead of many other states.”

The home department spokesperson said that effective action was also taken in connection with cases registered under the Goonda Act, Gangster Act and National Security Act. “The chief minister has directed that NSA be slapped in case of crimes which affect public order so that there is a feeling of fear among criminals and a feeling of safety among the public,” Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said.

The comparative data was released at a time when Opposition leaders have raised serious questions about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh after a spate of crimes, mostly against women, have been reported in the last few days.

Congress leader Deepak Singh hit out at the BJP government, claiming that crime graph has increased under their regime, ANI reported. “In 2018, UP government accepted that law and order situation is not good,” he said. “Today, government said that they can’t present exact numbers of crimes but they had released the crime data in media, this only means that government is playing double role.”

On Wednesday, the body of a medical student was found a few kilometres from her college in Agra city. The police have arrested a doctor accused of harassing her. On August 14, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped and murdered in the state’s Lakhimpur Kheri district. The body of the girl, who was strangled with her tongue allegedly cut, was found in a sugarcane field owned by one of the accused. The police have arrested four men in connection with the case under charges of gang rape and murder.

Two days later, another teenage girl was allegedly raped and singed with cigarette butts by two men in the Gola area of Gorakhpur district. The girl was found unconscious on Saturday and is currently undergoing treatment at the district hospital. A case has been registered against two men, who have been arrested and sent to jail, the police said.