New Delhi: The number of murders, often considered the most reliable baseline for measuring the crime situation in a city, witnessed a rise in the first five months of 2026 compared with last year, sounding alarm bells for police. With 238 reported cases between Jan and May, Delhi registered a 23.3% increase in homicides against the same period in 2025, when 193 cases were recorded, police data shows.While half the murders were the result of personal enmity and disputes, every third murder occurred due to sudden provocation or trivial issues, a broader trend towards hair-trigger anger. A significant number comprised stabbing incidents by minors, police said. The uptick recently prompted the police brass to issue instructions to identify hotspots and root causes behind such incidents.Police said they had intensified investigative efforts and crackdowns. This aggressive policing push is reflected in a significant surge in arrests, with the count climbing by 22.2% — from 507 during this period last year to 620 this year. “We have solved more murder cases this year. In all, 225 cases were solved this year against 186 during the same time period last year, an increase of 21%,” a senior officer said.An analysis of psychological and social drivers behind the murders reveals a troubling shift in underlying motives. While deep-seated grudges remain the leading catalyst, cases driven by enmity/disputes saw a slight contraction, dropping from 53.4% of the total crimes in 2025 to 50.4% in 2026. But the city has been witnessing a concerning rise in impulse-driven killings. Murders triggered by ‘sudden provocation/trivial issues’ spiked noticeably, jumping from 27.4% last year to 30.6% in 2026. Meanwhile, ‘crimes of passion’ registered a marginal decline, from 7.2% in the 2025 period to 5.4% in 2026.Overall, police have claimed a decline of 8% in heinous crimes this year while motor vehicle theft cases have dipped 21%. Nearly 95% of the heinous crime cases have seen chargesheets being filed within the statutory time limit.“Crimes against women had declined by nearly 17%, while the detection rate in such cases has reached 98%, among the highest in the country,” police said. PCR calls relating to robbery and snatching have also witnessed a substantial decline owing to improved police visibility and effective crime-control strategies, officers added. “The use of firearms in heinous crimes has declined by 27%,” a senior cop said.
