To prevent exaggeration of mob lynching statistics, time NCRB creates a record

The National Crime Records Bureau has no separate statistics on mob lynching

While Indian and international media are putting out numbers claiming them to be statistics of incidents of mob lynching in the country, there is no official number. The National Crime Records Bureau clubs death as a result of mob lynching as murder. The numbers, statistics and comparisons on mob lynching you see are either from media reports or from memory, both unofficial.

"Any incident of violence that involves more than 5 perpetrators is ideally considered as rioting. While filing a chargesheet, we file cases under relevant sections of rioting. In the case of severe physical harm or death, additional sections for attempt to murder and murder are added respectively. There are no statistics on mob lynching as a crime," said a senior IPS officer.

The NCRB that categorises crimes in India under 'crime heads' and mob lynching is not one of the heads. Meaning, no specific or clear statistics are available on how many incidents of mob violence, lynching or death have occurred in a year. The numbers that online platforms produce are a result of media reports which are not official numbers. "One cannot distinguish between mob lynching and any other murder since all of it is categorised as one crime head. Those accused are booked under IPC section 302. The reports that claim to have statistics mush have gathered the data from news reports which can never qualify as official numbers," said another senior police officer.

Based on an online portal's data, media houses claimed that 63 Indians had been killed in beef-related mob lynching since 2010. The data, in turn, was collected from English media reports by the portal's own admission. The site also mentions that they gathered the data through "Google searches with keywords that included, 'cow vigilantes', 'gau-rakshaks', 'beef', 'lynching', 'cow slaughter', 'cattle thieves', beef smuggler' and 'cattle trader'. Where the information was incomplete, the website claims to have spoken to the reporters. These numbers are once again the result of news that has been reported alone. The website adds that the statistics "may omit cow-related violence reported only in Hindi and other language media".

In the absence of official records, the data is unreliable, simply because even those who compiled it have noted the limitations. Taking a cue from the Indian media, international press like The New York Times has quoted the same numbers and comparisons, painting an exaggerated picture. While lynching does not find mention in the Indian Penal Code or is recorded as a separate crime, is it time now for the NCRB to record specific incidents of mob lynching, not just to provide official numbers but also to prevent exaggeration?

OneIndia News