45 per cent murder cases due to personal enmity: Delhi Police

New Delhi: More than 45 per cent murder cases reported in the national capital last year were due to personal enmity, according to Delhi Police data.

Murders over trivial issues like combing of hair in barber’s shop, issue of sleeping space, serving of golgappas, among others, led to bloodshed in over 18 per cent of the cases.

However, the annual report of Delhi Police said that there was a decline in the number of murder cases reported in 2017 from 2016.

As many as 462 cases of murder were reported last year as opposed to 501 in 2016. The police statistics also showed that 88.53 per cent of the murder cases were solved last year in comparison to 79.04 per cent in 2016.

The year 2017 started with the gruesome killing of 65-year-old Ravinder Matta who was allegedly killed by his own son in east Delhi’s Madhu Vihar over a property dispute.

The son also attacked his neighbour and then tried to take his own life by setting off an LPG cylinder, which left 11 policemen injured. The year also saw the killing of an octogenarian woman, her three daughters and their security guard in October in the Mansarovar Park of Shahdara for committing robbery at the women's’ house.

Meanwhile, more than 8,000 kgs of drugs were seized by the Delhi Police in 2017 with poppy head forming a major chunk of the seizure.

As many as 362 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) last year as opposed to 289 cases in 2016.

According to the Delhi Police's annual report, 491 persons were arrested in 2017 under the NDPS Act in comparison to 370 in 2016.    

The police seized 5,550.400 kgs of poppy head in 2017 as opposed to 600 kgs in 2016. The year 2017 also saw 51.581 kgs of heroin and 2,415 kgs of ganja being seized.

A senior official said the efforts of the Special Cell helped in identification and interception of various trans- national drug cartels and recoveries of narcotic substances in huge quantities.