INDIA:MORE MURDERS were committed in India last year than in any other country in the world, an official report has revealed.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report released by the federal interior ministry, 32,719 murder cases were registered across India last year, double the number recorded in the US and three times more than in neighbouring Pakistan - both of which have far smaller populations.
Senior police officials in India concede, however, that the national crime rate, including murder, was "even higher" as numerous cases go unreported for a variety of administrative and societal reasons, with largely corrupt authorities often refusing to register them.
The NCRB report revealed that overall, five million criminal cases, including murder, rape and drug offences, were reported in India in 2007-08. It stated that the national murder rate was three per 100,000 people and that the rate of rape was four victims per 100,000.
The report's authors, who collated figures from around the world, established that India was followed closely by South Africa with 30,960 murders.
But taking population differences into account, South Africa emerged as a far more violent country: 65.27 murders per 100,000 people and 115.8 rapes for the same number.
The US reported 16,692 murders last year, while neighbouring Pakistan, with large areas of its territory racked by unrest and violence, registered 9,631 cases. Taking populations into account, this makes both countries a lot more violent than India.
Indian politicians and lawmakers contributed to the country's crime statistics, with nearly a quarter of the country's 545 MPs having criminal records.
According to the report, every fourth member of Lok Sabha - India's elected lower house of parliament - faced charges ranging from murder to rape, kidnapping and fraud and cheating.
A recent report by the highly regarded National Social Watch Coalition, an alliance of social groups, parliamentarians, academics and policymakers, showed that many people with criminal records were fighting elections in India.
Of 3,182 candidates in the 2004 general elections, 518 had criminal backgrounds.