The lockdown in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic has checkmated habitual offenders and criminals , Gurugram police said, citing data that points to a drastic fall in most categories of crime.

The crime rate in Gurugram dropped by 57 per cent since March 25 when restrictions were in place to prevent the COVID-19 spread as compared to the same period last year, the police said on Saturday.    

According to the data shared by the police, a total of 171 cases of crime have been registered from March 25 to 31, 2020 as against 396 cases during the same period last year. These cases include murders, thefts and snatching, among others.

The data showed that in 2020, 14 cases of crime against person (murder, abetment to suicide, assault and others) were registered between March 25 and March 31. In 2019, 38 such cases were filed.

Similarly, crimes against women, including rape and harassment, also declined from 17 cases in 2019 to four this year over the stated period. Number of cases of vehicle theft witnessed a drop from 85 to seven.

"We registered seven cases of motor vehicle theft in the last week. Perhaps, this is the first time that such few number of cases have been reported. Generally, we register at least dozen of vehicle theft cases a week,” said a senior police official. “Due to the lockdown there has been a dip of 57% in crime rate across the district. Vehicle-lifters are finding it difficult to spot potential buyers.Usually,stolen vehicles are sold immediately. But now, fearing coronavirus, buyers of such vehicls have remained indoor.

"This is the main reason for the decrease in vehicle thefts. Secondly, many vehicles are stolen from parking lots and these places are empty now," a police officer explained.

On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a complete lockdown across the country for 21 days to control the spread of COVID-19.