Maharashtra tops the list when it comes to police firing incidents

Believe it or not Maharashtra beats even battleground Jammu and Kashmir when it comes to police firing incidents Recent statistics have thrown up the startling fact that Maharashtra witnessed the maximum number of incidents in the country of police resorting to firing to control violent mobs unrest or other lawlessness situations in 2016 Maharashtra had 44 cases while JampK where firing on protesting civilians is more norm than exception had 42 casesIllustrationUday MohiteIn the recently released data by National Crime Record Bureau NCRB Maharashtra topped the list with a total 44 incidents JampK stood at number two with 42 cases followed by Rajasthan and Haryana with 25 and 22 incidents respectively Interestingly UP which hogs headlines for its lawlessness remained at fifth place with 19 incidents of police firing Bihar interestingly didnrsquot witness a single firing incident in 2016 claims NCRB dataHowever police firing as a last resort to control law and order remained the most effective in Maharashtra as despite recording the maximum number of police firing incidents the state also recorded the least number of civilian casualtiesAs per statistics in 44 police firing incidents in the state last year 11 3 in the year 2015 civilians were killed and 19 were injured whereas Haryana topped the list of highest number of civilian causalities with 22 killings just 2 in 2015 and 107 people injuredHaryana is followed by Assam and JampK with 16 and 15 civilian casualties respectively JampK saw the maximum number of people injured in police firing with a figure of 189 followed by Rajasthan at 107 In Maharashtra only 19 people were injuredNCRB data also shows that in JampK a whopping 548 cops were hurt in public unrest Maharashtra and Karnataka stood second with 36 cops getting wounded while controlling violent mobsOur state recorded the least number of casualties This indicates that the police force resorted to firing only as a last effective measure to check violence said a senior police officer requesting anonymityAnother officer said that the police in the state believe in responding to any situation as quickly as possible to contain the unrest and prevent its spread in other regionsFormer state DGP Pravin Dixit said the police are not at all keen on firing It is only under exceptional circumstances and as a last resort that they opt for firing These circumstances could be lawlessness politically driven unrest social issues or unrest due to a particular crimeThe former senior IPS officer said Figures are little strange and surprising as I donrsquot recall a single firing incident between January and July 2016 In fact overall the year has been peacefulHe added Even the naxalaffected regions were very peaceful last year Also last year saw the maximum surrenders by naxalites Dixit said that the statistics must be relooked atHe added that in 2016 the interaction between cops and the public was so intense that it resulted in maximum dialogue We had raised over thshyree lakh civilians as police mitras who would work to defushyse situations before they took a bigger shapeCatch up on all the latest Mumbai National and International news hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go