Crime in IndiaA Data Libertarian Project
Theft, burglary, robbery, dacoity · Crime in India 2024

6.2 lakh thefts registered in 2024. Delhi registered 29.1% of them.

Theft FIRs fell in 2024, from 6,89,580 to 6,21,945, after rising every year since 2020. Some of the fall may be a change in the law: snatching became its own crime, 12,644 cases in half a year. Robbery fell to 23,145. Delhi, with 1.6% of the Bureau’s projected population, registered 1,80,973 thefts.1,2

See the statesWhat was recovered

Four separate heads, kept apart as the Bureau keeps them: theft is taking without force, burglary is breaking in, robbery is taking by force, dacoity is robbery by five or more.

Ten years

Theft and robbery, 2015 to 2024, by kind

Each bar is one year’s FIRs, read from that year’s own Crime in India volume. Stealing without force and taking by force are drawn as two charts: theft is so much larger that robbery would vanish on one axis. Theft rose from 4,67,833 in 2015 to a peak of 6,89,580 in 2023. Robbery fell from 36,188 to 23,145.3–11

Taken without force: theft and burglary

Cases registered each year. Hover or tab to a bar for its parts.

  • Vehicle theft
  • Other theft
  • Burglary (breaking into a house or building)
02.0 lakh4.0 lakh6.0 lakh8.0 lakh5.8 lakh20156.1 lakh20167.0 lakh20177.3 lakh20187.8 lakh20195.8 lakh20206.8 lakh20217.6 lakh20228.0 lakh20237.3 lakh2024

2020 was the lockdown year. 2015 figures are from the 2016 and 2017 volumes; 2015 and 2016 vehicle-theft splits from the 2017 volume. 2019 is the 2019 volume as first printed; later volumes revise it slightly after West Bengal’s late data. 2024 combines IPC and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cases.

Taken by force: robbery and dacoity

Cases registered each year. Dacoity is robbery by five or more people.

  • Robbery
  • Dacoity
010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00040,160201535,701201634,317201734,314201834,241201926,680202032,101202131,022202230,391202325,5382024

The 2023 dacoity bump is almost all Manipur: 1 case in 2022, 1,213 in 2023. From July 2024 the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita made snatching (12,644 cases in 2024) its own crime; under the IPC it was filed as theft or robbery. Some of the 2024 fall in both charts may be that change in counting.

The numbers behind each bar
Cases registered. Each year from its own Crime in India volume; see the sources below.
Name
20151,99,1272,68,7061,14,12336,1883,972
20162,13,7652,80,6391,11,74631,9063,795
20172,25,4453,63,6131,10,71130,7423,575
20182,33,7273,91,71499,94030,8223,492
20192,37,8844,38,0321,00,89731,0653,176
20201,94,7972,98,37586,22324,1072,573
20212,36,7953,49,85497,79229,2242,877
20222,52,5694,00,1621,07,22228,3562,666
20232,50,6304,38,9501,07,57326,5993,792
20242,33,0333,88,9121,07,53223,1452,393
What the count is made of

Every part over 10%, and the new head that took some of the count

2024 theft is mostly “other theft” and vehicle theft; the new law split out household theft and a few smaller kinds. Robbery is almost all robbery by fewer than five people; dacoity is about a tenth of it. From July 2024, snatching became its own crime, and in half a year it reached more than half the size of robbery.11

Theft by kind, 2024

6,21,945 cases

  • Other theft3,50,438 56.3%
  • Vehicle theft2,33,033 37.5%
  • Household theft (new BNS head)29,813 4.8%
  • Theft from vehicles, of government property, by servants, of idols8,661 1.4%

Taken by force, 2024

Robbery and dacoity, beside the new snatching head

  1. Robbery23,145
  2. Snatching (new BNS head, July to December)12,644
  3. Dacoity (five or more people)2,393
Parts of 10% or more are marked. Theft shares are of all theft in 2024; robbery-side shares are of robbery in 2024.
PartFigureShareWhere it is counted
Other theftof theft3,50,43856.3%Inside the headline count
Vehicle theftof theft2,33,03337.5%Inside the headline count
Household theftof theft; new head under the BNS29,8134.8%Inside the headline count
Dacoitysize relative to robbery; its own head2,39310.3%Outside it: a separate head
Snatchingsize relative to robbery; before July 2024 filed as theft or robbery12,64454.6%Outside it: a separate head
The count

Four heads, four very different sizes

Each chart has its own scale: theft is 260 times dacoity, so one axis would flatten three of the four. Rate is per lakh people.1,10

6,21,945
Theft, s.379
−9.8%on 2023. 44.3 per lakh people.
1,07,532
Burglary, s.454–460
0.0%on 2023. 7.7 per lakh people.
23,145
Robbery, s.392–397
−13.0%on 2023. 1.6 per lakh people.
2,393
Dacoity, s.395–397
−36.9%on 2023. 0.2 per lakh people.

Theft

Cases registered, 2020 to 2024

02,00,0004,00,0006,00,0008,00,0004,93,17220205,86,64920216,52,73120226,89,58020236,21,9452024

Burglary

Cases registered, 2020 to 2024

020,00040,00060,00080,0001,00,0001,20,00086,223202097,79220211,07,22220221,07,57320231,07,5322024

Robbery

Cases registered, 2020 to 2024

010,00020,00030,00024,107202029,224202128,356202226,599202323,1452024

Dacoity

Cases registered, 2020 to 2024

01,0002,0003,0004,0002,57320202,87720212,66620223,79220232,3932024

Within theft, vehicle theft was 2,33,033 cases in 2024, 37.5% of the total, against 2,50,630 in 2023. Dacoity fell to 2,393, back from a 2023 spike that was almost all one state: Manipur registered 1 dacoity case in 2022, 1,213 in 2023 and 98 in 2024.1,2,12,13

Where

One city-state registers 29.1% of India’s thefts

Delhi registered 1,80,973 thefts in 2024, 827.1 per lakh people. The national rate is 44.3. Either Delhi has a far larger share of India’s theft than its population, or Delhi’s police register theft far more readily than other states’. These tables cannot say which, and the Bureau warns against comparing states on its figures alone. One difference is on record: Delhi Police let people register a motor-vehicle theft FIR online.2,14

Property crime per lakh people, 2024

Each square is a state or union territory, placed roughly where it lies.

JK14.9LA6.0CH128.0PB18.1HP7.4UK24.7RJ53.4HR86.4DL827.1UP18.3BR36.8SK4.3AR44.2GJ22.2MP39.2CG23.8JH27.8WB9.3ML35.6AS21.8NL14.7DD3.8MH63.1TG55.5OD37.3TR5.4MZ76.7MN51.7GA19.9KA32.8AP22.5AN10.8LD12.9KL13.4TN20.8PY20.8
Theft per lakh
  1. 0.0–12.9
  2. 12.9–20.8
  3. 20.8–27.8
  4. 27.8–51.7
  5. 51.7+
JK7.9LA7.7CH7.2PB10.2HP6.0UK3.7RJ9.0HR29.6DL41.0UP2.9BR4.3SK7.0AR8.0GJ4.1MP9.2CG12.4JH5.2WB0.1ML8.3AS6.4NL1.9DD3.5MH10.1TG16.4OD13.7TR2.5MZ76.1MN1.4GA8.5KA8.0AP7.6AN10.3LD0.0KL7.2TN7.0PY3.1
Burglary per lakh
  1. 0.0–3.5
  2. 3.5–7.0
  3. 7.0–8.0
  4. 8.0–10.2
  5. 10.2+
JK0.2LA0.7CH3.6PB0.7HP0.1UK1.2RJ2.2HR2.2DL6.9UP0.5BR1.5SK0.0AR1.8GJ0.7MP1.1CG1.3JH1.1WB0.2ML0.9AS1.2NL0.6DD0.4MH3.7TG2.0OD5.5TR0.3MZ0.8MN2.2GA0.8KA2.3AP0.5AN0.3LD0.0KL2.0TN2.4PY0.6
Robbery per lakh
  1. 0.0–0.4
  2. 0.4–0.7
  3. 0.7–1.2
  4. 1.2–2.2
  5. 2.2+

Squares are equal in size on purpose. The grid is not a map and draws no borders. Delhi’s theft rate is so high that it sits alone in the darkest band.

Most thefts

Ten states and UTs by cases, 2024

  1. Delhi1,80,973
  2. Maharashtra80,620
  3. Bihar47,535
  4. Rajasthan43,869
  5. Uttar Pradesh43,598
  6. Madhya Pradesh34,492
  7. Haryana26,509
  8. Karnataka22,396
  9. Telangana21,269
  10. Odisha17,381

Most robberies

Ten states and UTs by cases, 2024

  1. Maharashtra4,731
  2. Odisha2,582
  3. Bihar1,977
  4. Tamil Nadu1,837
  5. Rajasthan1,800
  6. Karnataka1,567
  7. Delhi1,510
  8. Uttar Pradesh1,163
  9. Madhya Pradesh943
  10. Telangana758
All 36 states and union territories
Cases registered in 2024. Rates per lakh people on the Bureau’s 2024 projected population.
Name
Delhi1,80,973827.18,9681,5106.929
Maharashtra80,62063.112,9074,7313.7458
Bihar47,53536.85,5761,9771.5238
Rajasthan43,86953.47,3751,8002.2124
Uttar Pradesh43,59818.36,9091,1630.557
Madhya Pradesh34,49239.28,0979431.169
Haryana26,50986.49,0836702.280
Karnataka22,39632.85,4591,5672.3158
Telangana21,26955.56,3037582.068
Odisha17,38137.36,4082,5825.5358
Gujarat16,13022.23,0104990.796
Tamil Nadu16,03220.85,3851,8372.4111
Andhra Pradesh12,02222.54,0612440.533
Jharkhand11,16627.82,0744381.189
West Bengal9,2909.3652130.250
Assam7,87621.82,3184431.272
Chhattisgarh7,27923.83,8124131.355
Punjab5,62318.13,1602240.740
Kerala4,83713.42,6017052.063
Uttarakhand2,91324.74331411.214
Jammu & Kashmir2,04314.91,088340.22
Manipur1,68751.745732.298
Chandigarh1,600128.090453.63
Meghalaya1,20835.6280300.99
Mizoram95976.7951100.82
Arunachal Pradesh69944.2127291.83
Himachal Pradesh5567.4450100.14
Puducherry35420.853100.62
Nagaland33314.742140.62
Goa31719.9135130.82
Tripura2265.4106110.34
D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu533.84850.40
A&N Islands4310.84110.30
Sikkim304.34900.00
Ladakh186.02320.70
Lakshadweep912.9000.00
What was recovered

Most of the stolen value never came back

The Bureau prints the value of property the police recorded as stolen across property crimes, and the value recovered.11,15

₹5,924 cr
Stolen, 2024
₹6,917 crore in 2023.
₹2,074 cr
Recovered, 2024
₹2,065 crore in 2023.
35.0%
Recovery rate
from 29.9%in 2023. Value recovered ÷ value stolen.

Theft: police, 2022

9,13,625 cases for investigation

  • Chargesheet filed1,91,540 21.0%
  • Closed without a chargesheet, transferred or otherwise disposed4,48,933 49.1%
  • Still under investigation at year end2,73,152 29.9%

The 2023 and 2024 volumes read here do not print theft disposal; 2022 is the latest year with it.16

Theft: courts, 2022

12,97,731 cases for trial

  • Convicted33,440 2.6%
  • Acquitted37,111 2.9%
  • Discharged, withdrawn or otherwise disposed28,626 2.2%
  • Still pending at year end11,98,554 92.4%

45.0% conviction rate; 92.4% of cases still pending.17

Read before quoting

The theft chargesheeting rate in 2022 was 29.9%. For murder it was 81.5%. Most theft FIRs end with no one charged.16

Other government records

Two states’ own counts, beside the Bureau’s

Kerala Police and Karnataka’s State Crime Records Bureau publish state-wide counts of theft, burglary, robbery and dacoity. Every figure checked matches the Bureau’s row for that state exactly.2,12,18,19

State police counts beside NCRB’s rows for the same state.
FigureState policeNCRBGap
Kerala, theft, 20223,9433,943Same
Kerala, theft, 20234,6864,686Same
Kerala, burglary, 20232,6952,695Same
Kerala, robbery, 2022821821Same
Kerala, robbery, 2023884884Same
Kerala, dacoity, 20237575Same
Karnataka, theft, 202221,06721,067Same
Karnataka, theft, 202324,96624,966Same
Karnataka, theft, 202422,39622,396Same
Karnataka, burglary, 20245,4595,459Same
Karnataka, robbery, 20221,7101,710Same
Karnataka, robbery, 20231,8421,842Same
Karnataka, robbery, 20241,5671,567Same
Karnataka, dacoity, 2024158158Same
Cities

Delhi City sits far above every other metro

Delhi City registered 1,80,973 thefts, 1,109.6 per lakh people on the 2011 census. City figures are inside the state totals, and city rates cannot be set beside state rates.20

Theft per lakh people, by city, 2024

Rates on the 2011 census population

  1. Delhi City1,109.6
  2. Jaipur, Rajasthan294.8
  3. Patna, Bihar202.0
  4. Indore, Madhya Pradesh161.9
  5. Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh130.8
  6. Nagpur, Maharashtra117.5
  7. Bengaluru, Karnataka108.6
  8. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh91.4
  9. Pune, Maharashtra70.4
  10. Hyderabad, Telangana62.9
  11. Mumbai, Maharashtra59.0
  12. Ahmedabad, Gujarat56.4
  13. Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu48.5
  14. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh44.5
  15. Surat, Gujarat34.5
  16. Chennai, Tamil Nadu33.1
  17. Kochi, Kerala20.3
  18. Kozhikode, Kerala11.6
  19. Kolkata, West Bengal6.9
City table
Cases registered in 2024. Rates per lakh people on the 2011 census.
Name
Delhi City1,80,9731,109.68,9681,51029
Mumbai, Maharashtra10,85459.01,30759116
Bengaluru, Karnataka9,229108.694467534
Jaipur, Rajasthan9,051294.81,16823921
Hyderabad, Telangana4,87562.944722130
Patna, Bihar4,140202.04909511
Ahmedabad, Gujarat3,58356.43981108
Pune, Maharashtra3,55470.452735118
Indore, Madhya Pradesh3,514161.94131513
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh3,086130.8178390
Nagpur, Maharashtra2,937117.51,01216016
Chennai, Tamil Nadu2,87633.135325913
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh2,65291.45361261
Surat, Gujarat1,57834.5231344
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh1,29844.5271312
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu1,04248.5191446
Kolkata, West Bengal9756.912103
Kochi, Kerala43020.3106555
Kozhikode, Kerala23511.6128321
Sources

Every figure, to its table

Government publications only. Each note links the document; the table number is where the figure is printed.

  1. Crime in India 2024, Volume I — Table 1.2, IPC/BNS Crimes (Crime Head-wise), 2022–2024National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  2. Crime in India 2024, Volume I — Table 1A.4, IPC/BNS Crimes (Crime Head-wise and State/UT-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  3. Crime in India 2017 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  4. Crime in India 2016 — full publication, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  5. Crime in India 2018 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  6. Crime in India 2019 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  7. Crime in India 2020 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  8. Crime in India 2021 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  9. Crime in India 2022 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  10. Crime in India 2023, Volume I — Table 1.2, IPC Crimes (Crime Head-wise), 2021–2023National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  11. Crime in India 2024 — Volume I, Tables 1.2, 3A.2 and 3A.11National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  12. Crime in India 2023, Volume I — Table 1A.4, IPC Crimes (Crime Head-wise and State/UT-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  13. Crime in India 2022 — Table 1A.4, IPC Crimes (Crime Head-wise and State/UT-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  14. Delhi Police — Motor Vehicle Theft e-FIR portalDelhi Police, Government of NCT of Delhi (Ministry of Home Affairs) · accessed 2026-09-27Online registration of motor-vehicle theft FIRs; the portal carries a 2015 copyright line.
  15. Crime in India 2023 — Snapshots (States/UTs)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  16. Crime in India 2022 — Table 17A.1, Police Disposal of IPC Crime Cases (Crime Head-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  17. Crime in India 2022 — Table 18A.1, Court Disposal of IPC Crime Cases (Crime Head-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.
  18. Crime statistics — BNS/IPC cases and crime against women, state-wideKerala Police, Government of Kerala · accessed 2026-09-27Also https://keralapolice.gov.in/crime-statistics/crime-against-woman. Live pages read on 2026-09-27.
  19. Crime in Karnataka – 2024 (21st edition)Karnataka State Police, Police Computer Wing and State Crime Records Bureau, Government of Karnataka · accessed 2026-09-27Year-wise reports 2015–2024 are listed at https://ksp.karnataka.gov.in/new-page/Crime%20in%20Karnataka/en.
  20. Crime in India 2024, Volume I — Table 1B.4, IPC/BNS Crimes (Crime Head-wise and City-wise)National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs · accessed 2026-09-27Calendar year. Registered cases, principal-offence rule.