MP tops in crimes against tribals, accounts for 32% cases in India: NCRB data

Bhopal: A tribal youth in Indore was allegedly beaten and humiliated by two men who forced him to tie their shoelaces after accusing him of reckless driving on Aug 19, 2024. Weeks later in the same year in Singrauli, tribal farmer Indrapal Agariya was allegedly run over by a tractor while trying to stop illegal sand mining on his land in September, yet police initially treated the incident as an accident and no murder case was registered, as per a TOI report dated Sept 3, 2024.

These incidents reflect a larger and troubling trend in Madhya Pradesh, which recorded 3,165 cases of crimes against tribals in 2024, the highest in the country, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

Madhya Pradesh recorded 31.75% of the total cases of tribal atrocities in India, as per the latest NCRB report. MP saw a 11% rise in such crimes from 2023. The state topped the country in 2021, 2022 and was second in 2023 as ethnic violence reached its peak in Manipur.

But what’s more concerning is the fact that in 2023, 3,399 cases of crime targeting tribals were registered in Manipur and MP reached a comparable figure in 2024 (3,165), a statistical anomaly the state will have to contend with. The closest that any other state came to MP was Rajasthan with 2,282 cases at second and Maharashtra with 830 cases at the third spot.

Murder cases with tribals as the victim rose from 47 in 2023 to 62 in 2024, a 24% increase while India saw an increase of 13% in such cases during the same period.

Highest Cases Of Rape

As per NCRB data, the state recorded the highest number of rape cases against tribal women for the second year in a row (358 cases in 2024 & 357 in 2023), accounting for 28% of all cases in India in 2024. Sexual harassment cases went from 47 to 43 in the same period, recording no little to no change in the rate of crime.

The safety of tribal women has been a continual concern: In May of 2024, the case of a man changing his voice through an app to rape multiple tribal girls was reported. He lured the girls on the pretext of scholarships.

In a category which did not see many cases being filed in India, MP and Gujarat, with 7 cases each, accounted for 14 of the 18 cases of kidnapping, abduction or inducing of tribal girls to compel for marriage in 2024.

No State For Tribal Kids?

And when tribal kids are concerned, the state’s record is beyond dismal: The number of rape cases against tribal kids under POCSO increased from 132 to 137.

Most tribal kids were also kidnapped in the state, with 7 out of the 13 cases in the country registered here. Second only to Rajasthan, the report shows that 5 of the total 19 cases of missing children deemed as kidnapped were also filed in MP.

Pattern Continues

It was less than two weeks ago when a tribal youth was stripped, thrashed and urinated on in Bhopal on April 30 over a dispute the accused had with the youth’s neighbour and friend.