The National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) 'Crime in India' report for the year 2022 shows Dalits in India continue to be vulnerable to caste-based atrocities. A total of 57,582 cases were registered for committing crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs), an increase of 13.1% over 2021 (50,900 cases). The crime rate registered an increase from 25.3 in 2021 to 28.6 in 2022.
A total of 10,064 cases were registered for committing crime against Scheduled Tribes (STs), an increase of 14.3% over 2021 (8,802 cases). The crime rate increased from 8.4 in 2021 to 9.6 in 2022. The report reveals that 1,347 cases of rape and 1022 cases of assault on tribal women were reported in 2022.
In India, Uttar Pradesh (15,368), Rajasthan (8,752), Madhya Pradesh (7,733), and Bihar (6,509) reported the highest number of crimes against SCs. In UP, the number of crimes against SCs went up from 13146 in 2021 to 15368 in 2022 - an increase of 16%. The figure was 12714 in 2020. Madhya Pradesh (2,979) and Rajasthan (2,521) also recorded the highest number of cases over crimes against STs.
Among South Indian states, Andhra Pradesh with 2315 cases, topped the list in cases against SCs. While Telangana registered 1787 crimes against SCs, Tamil Nadu had 1761 and Karnataka had 1977 such cases. Kerala reported the lowest number of crimes against SCs (1,050). Tamil Nadu witnessed a spurt in crimes against SCs, rising from 1377 in 2021 to 1761 in 2022. An increase of 28.4 in percentage terms.
The highest number of crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) in South India were reported in Telangana (545) and lowest in Tamil Nadu (67). Karnataka registered 438 crimes against STs while Andhra Pradesh recorded 396 crimes against STs while Kerala recorded 172 crimes against STs.
Karnataka reported the highest spurt in crimes against STs from 361 cases in 2021 to 438 cases in 2022, an increase of 21.3%
Among the cases registered for crime against SCs majority of cases were registered under simple hurt ((18,428), followed by Criminal Intimidation (5,274) and violations of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (4,703). In crimes against STs, most are in the category of simple hurt cases (2,826).