Crime data presented as a State Crime Records Bureau response to a Right to Information query has triggered a demand from the Trinamool Congress for a special session of the West Bengal Assembly, with the party alleging a serious deterioration in law and order under the BJP government.
At a news conference outside the Assembly, Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh and advocate Arka Nag cited SCRB figures covering the five-month period from May to September 24. The data recorded 2,454 rape cases, 600 murders, 13,114 attempts to murder and 32,341 cases of assault causing grievous hurt during the period, according to the report presented by the Trinamool leaders.
The figures were obtained through an RTI query filed by former Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale. Trinamool calculated that the totals amounted to an average of about 16 rape cases, four murders, 87 attempted murders and 216 grievous-assault cases each day. These are averages derived from the period covered by the SCRB data and do not establish the circumstances or outcomes of individual cases.
Ghosh and Nag used the figures to demand an immediate special session of the Assembly. Trinamool has also sought public statements from chief minister Suvendu Adhikari and governor R.N. Ravi explaining what the party described as a sharp rise in crime. Ghosh accused the administration of presiding over a system marked by political intimidation and inadequate access to police stations.
Nag raised separate concerns about the handling of complaints and First Information Reports. He alleged that FIRs were sometimes not uploaded to online portals within the stipulated 24-hour period, that police stations were turning away victims or pressuring complainants to modify their statements, and that cases involving older political clashes were being registered after delays. These allegations were made at the news conference and were not independently established in the material supplied for this report.
The political dispute also centres on what the numbers represent. Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee amplified the data on social media, describing the figures as evidence of a “double-engine disaster” and alleging administrative failure. His comments also linked the statistics to the state’s recent political and electoral developments.
The BJP rejected the Opposition’s interpretation. Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the higher figures reflected greater transparency under the party’s government, arguing that complaints were now being formally accepted and recorded. He said the data showed that crimes were being reported and acted upon, and described this as an indication of good governance.
The competing claims leave the immediate institutional question focused on whether the Assembly will convene to examine the SCRB figures, the registration and reporting of cases, and the administration’s response to complaints. The Trinamool Congress’s demand for a special session is the next formal step identified in the material supplied.
