Crime rate has come down in Tamil Nadu, state home secretary says quoting data

CHENNAI: There has been a steady decline in the incidence of crime in Tamil Nadu, across almost all categories over the past five years, said state home secretary Dheeraj Kumar here on Thursday.Responding to concerns raised by the Opposition parties about law and order issues, Dheeraj Kumar said: "I can go only by the facts and data." He said the number of murder cases reported in the state declined from 1,597 in 2021 to 1,461 in 2025. The number of rape cases also fell from 422 in 2021 to 401 in 2025. The state govt also maintains zero-tolerance on custodial torture cases, he added.Referring to the custodial death of Ajithkumar of Madappuram in Sivaganga district, Venkatraman said Tamil Nadu police were transparent in inquiring custodial deaths and torture, and investigations are conducted without bias. "We are transparent in dealing with these cases, and that is why we transferred the case to the CBI," Dheeraj Kumar said.On his part, director-general of police G Venkatraman referred to the recent rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Kolathur near Vilathikulam in Tuticorin district and said the crime occurred in a remote location and police teams had been deployed to track down the suspects.Venkatraman said there has been a heightened awareness about the Pocso Act and crimes against women among police personnel and departments. "Due to this, the number of cases registered under the Pocso Act has increased. There is no suppression of cases reported in the state. We have given a free hand to the subordinate officers to register cases without delay," he said.Police are tracking all Pocso cases and crimes against women closely to ensure convictions through the legal procedure, said additional DGP (Law and Order) Maheshwar Dayal, adding, “We are giving high priority to filing charge sheets and getting convictions in those cases."As for the drug menace in the state, Dheeraj Kumar said 6,800 cases had been reported before 2021. "In the past five years, we took severe action against drug peddlers and smugglers and registered more than 11,000 cases, thereby curbing the drug menace in the state," he said. Anti-drug clubs were established in all colleges and educational institutions.