Datanomics: Past decade saw over a million kidnapping and abduction cases

Despite over 2 million kidnapping and abduction cases since 1953, ransom-linked crimes remain a tiny fraction of the total in India

Shubhra Ranjan, the director of a Delhi-based coaching centre for the civil services exams, was kidnapped at gunpoint in Bhopal on May 3 and forced to pay ₹1.89 crore. From 1953 to 2024, more than 2 million cases of kidnapping and abduction have been registered, accounting for about 1.7 per cent of the total cases registered under the Indian Penal Code (now known as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). As many as 54 per cent of these 2 million cases occurred between 2013 and 2024. In this period, incidents specifically linked to ransom accounted for only 0.7 per cent of the total cases nationwide.

 

7-decade snapshot

 

Kidnapping cases have continuously risen since 1953-62. Their share in IPC cases has also been rising since 1973-82. 

 

Ransom not a major reason

 

Abduction remains the most common motive, accounting for more than half of kidnapping cases, followed by abduction of women for marriage. Ransom accounts for a minor share of such cases. 

 

Top six states

 

Among the top six states in terms of kidnapping cases, Bihar recorded the fewest in 2024. In most earlier years, it came third-highest after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.