States Of Disorder

Which are India's crime havens? Few surprises: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Delhi, of course, is the crime capital.

The cii team found Delhi industry reluctant to give an honest picture and the law and order situation could be worse than that captured in the survey. In '95, the number of crimes in the capital was four times that of Bihar.

Naturally, ceos and managers in and around Delhi spend money like water on security. Cash is the primary demand of criminals, followed by jobs and favours. The critical areas include Okhla, Ramesh Nagar, Nangloi, Mayapuri and Najafgarh.

Says Bhaumik of cii: 'Between 75 and 90 per cent of Delhi's criminals are first-timers which shows that there is something wrong. The major problem is that people have not been able to access available opportunities. The increasing disparities in income and the political connections have given rise to educated potential criminals who are always ready to strike.'

In the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar, criminal activities of all kinds flourish, notably murder, kidnapping and extortion. Haryana is especially criminal-infested, with the police quite ineffective. The critical belt: in UP, Modinagar, Kushinagar, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Noida; Hazaribagh, Singhbhum West, Ranchi, Patna and Bokaro in Bihar; and Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal and Rohtak in Haryana.