In the last several years, the murder rate in India has decreased gradually from the rest of the world, whereas the killings due to love have increased. This has been revealed in the recently released NCRB data. These data indicate that love affair is one of the major reasons for killing a person. These cases increased between 2001 and 2017.

In 2001 NCRB registered 36,202 murders, the number fell to 28,653 in 2017, a decrease of around 21%. During this period, murders caused by revenge have come down by 4.3 per cent, while the murders in property disputes have decreased by 12 per cent.

Conversely, cases of love (including illegal relationships) have increased by 28 per cent. Such cases were seen most in Andhra, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab, while in Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and UP, this was the second major cause of killings. Barring Kerala and West Bengal, Love Affair was seen as the third cause of killings in all other major states.

92 murders committed in 2017 for false pride

A senior police officer  told  that most of the cases were about love triangle and illegal relations. Some cases of honor killing were also seen. In 2017, 92 people were murdered due to murder, whereas in 2016, the number of murders was 71.

Associate Professor Pratiksha Bakshi of the JNU's Center for the Study of Law and Governance says the figures show that there have been fewer cases of gender-related killings. She explains that there are social and political reasons behind such violence. Such as to prevent people from choosing a partner of choice in the name of caste, religion and nation.