Delhi Police registered 736 cases under Sections 111 and 112 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in the first five months of 2026, a 16% increase from the 634 cases recorded during the corresponding period last year. Arrests in these cases rose 60%, from 769 to 1,232, as the force used the provisions to target criminal networks rather than only individual offenders.
The figures, reported by the Times of India, cover cases recorded between January and May. Section 111 deals with serious organised crime carried out by gangs or criminal networks for financial or material gain, while Section 112 covers petty organised crime involving groups or gangs engaged in recurring offences.
Cases registered under Section 111 increased from 122 in the first five months of 2025 to 166 during the same period this year. Arrests in these cases rose sharply from 76 to 333. Police also reported that 154 organised crime cases had been solved by May this year, compared with 45 in the corresponding period of 2025.
Under Section 112, cases rose from 512 to 570. Arrests increased from 693 to 899, while the number of cases solved went up from 500 to 533. A senior police officer described the provision as a “mini-MCOCA”, referring to its intended use in dismantling criminal syndicates.
According to police officers quoted in the report, the provisions are being applied to networks involved in activities including extortion, liquor trafficking, phone snatching and cyber fraud. In a snatching network, for example, Section 112 can be used against people involved in recruiting snatchers, carrying out thefts and disposing of stolen phones. Police also said the provisions could cover repeat cyber-fraud offenders who provide mule accounts or transfer illicit funds for overseas scammers.
The police approach is aimed at dealing with the wider organisation behind recurring offences. Officers said residents are sometimes reluctant to file complaints against people involved in local criminal activity, making it difficult to disrupt networks through individual cases alone. The use of the new BNS provisions is also expected to strengthen police cases during bail proceedings, as courts take a serious view of offences registered under these sections.
The provisions can carry prolonged jail terms, according to the officers cited in the report. Delhi Police are invoking them against repeat offenders who have allegedly continued criminal activity despite being jailed several times and are suspected of operating organised syndicates. The next measure of the strategy will be its continued application across cases involving recurring local offences and wider criminal networks.
