Chandigarh, Sept. 30 – Once celebrated as the “City Beautiful,” Chandigarh is confronting a darker reality, with its crime rate now edging above the national average and suicides reaching alarming proportions. The National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India 2023 report, released Tuesday, shows that the Union Territory is grappling with a steep rise in serious offences ranging from murder, rape and kidnapping to cybercrime and dowry deaths.
The city registered 385 violent crime cases last year, translating into a rate of 31.2 per lakh population, slightly higher than the national average of 31.1. In absolute numbers, Delhi recorded far more murders (497) than Chandigarh’s 19, but the UT’s per-lakh murder rate was higher than in Union Territories such as Puducherry (14.9) and Jammu & Kashmir (17.9).
Crimes against women and children dominate the city’s crime profile. Chandigarh reported 124 rapes, 125 cases of assault, and 14 dowry deaths. Kidnapping and abduction cases stood at 64, including minors taken for exploitation and women abducted for marriage. Children were victims in 1,180 registered crimes — ranging from trafficking and foeticide to infanticide — a number experts say reflects both social practices and urban pressures.
Theft remained the largest crime head, with 1,892 reported cases, followed by 279 burglaries and 14 extortion incidents. Economic and cyber offences also climbed sharply, in line with the national surge. Most cyber complaints fell under Section 66 of the IT Act, covering hacking and identity theft.
The most sobering statistic, however, relates to suicides. Chandigarh reported 409 suicide deaths in 2023 — a rate of 28.7 per lakh, more than double the national average of 12.4. The city’s suicide rate exceeded even Delhi (21.2) and Puducherry (20.5). Nearly 70 per cent of the victims were men, with academic stress, unemployment and family disputes cited as leading causes.
“Chandigarh’s high suicide rate is a silent epidemic. Behind the numbers are pressures of urban isolation, academic stress and job insecurity,” psychiatrist Dr. Radhika Singh said.
Experts warned that weak justice delivery worsens the problem. Chandigarh’s chargesheeting rate stood at 57.2 per cent compared to the national average of 74.1, and its conviction rate was 26 per cent against India’s 30 per cent. “The NCRB data shows Chandigarh has a dual challenge: high urban theft rates and rising crimes against women. What’s more worrying is that our chargesheeting rate lags… That gap emboldens criminals,” a retired UT police officer noted.
Criminologist R.S. Sohal put it bluntly: “Chandigarh needs to act now. Else, its ‘City Beautiful’ tag risks being overshadowed by a ‘City Unsafe’ reality.”
The report underscores that while Chandigarh is safer than Delhi in absolute terms, it fares worse than most other Union Territories when crime rates and suicides are considered together.
