NCRB Data Shows Panjab in Poor Light

On 29 Sep, the Indian National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) released multi-sectoral data for the year 2023. According to the farmer suicide data, Panjab recorded a decline in overall farm suicides (cultivators and laborers combined), dropping from 302 in 2019 to 174 in 2023. Out of the 174 people who lost their lives, 141 were cultivators—133 cultivating their own land and eight after taking it on lease. The rest of the 33 fatalities were those of farm laborers. However, farm organizations in Panjab have rejected the figures, terming them as 'highly depreciated'. Kirti Kisan Union vice-president Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala pointed to an extensive 2016 survey conducted by three Panjab universities which recorded 16,606 farmer and farm laborer suicides over 16 years (2000-2015)—an average of over 1K per year. Farmer sector leaders also pointed out that the NCRB has not recorded the reasons and causes behind farm suicides for the last six years, which they argue contributes to the undercounting, as deaths are often recorded under causes other than agricultural distress. On drug overdose, for a second year in a row, Panjab recorded the highest number of drug overdose deaths with 89 fatalities even as the state witnessed a decline from the 144 deaths reported in 2022. Panjab registered the third-highest number of cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2023, with 11,589 cases, trailing Kerala (30,697) and Maharashtra (15,610). The data mentioned that the majority of NDPS cases in Panjab (7,785) were registered for possession of drugs for trafficking. In contrast, Kerala and Maharashtra showed higher numbers for possession for personal use. Prisons in Panjab recorded the highest number of 20 unnatural deaths in the country in 2023. According to the report on Prison Statistics in India, 2023, of the 20 unnatural deaths, 13 were suicides, three were due to murder by inmates, and four were accidental. The NCRB data on road accidents deaths reverses the trend of more injuries than deaths. Panjab saw 6,276 road accidents which caused 4,906 deaths and 3,305 injuries.