July 25: The graph of crime has been increasing steadily in Kathmandu year by year, data shows.    
According to the Kathmandu District Police Range, the cases of banking fraud and other economic offences have significantly soared here in recent times.    
In the fiscal year 2020/21, a total of 5,662 cases of crimes were registered in Kathmandu and this number increased to 8,977 in the following year and further rose to 13,464 in the fiscal year 2022/23. Notably, more than half of these cases, specifically 7,101 cases, were related to banking fraud.    
Similarly, 2,894 were related to abuse, 647 involved theft, 414 were associated with swindling, 368 were related drug abuse and smuggling, 357 were related to suicide incidents, and 326 were related to women and children.    
Likewise, 189 cases were related to traffic accidents and injuries, 27 cases were about murder, and 1,141 cases were related to other forms of offences.    
Senior Superintendent of Police, Dan Bahadur Karki, said the data presents the escalating trend of banking fraud and other economic offences in Kathmandu lately. This includes banking fraud, bounced checks, swindling through lottery scams, and deceptive promises of lucrative employment opportunities abroad. -- RSS