Delhi accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all rape cases and almost 25 per cent murder cases among 19 metropolitan cities in India in 2020, according to the latest government data.

Altogether, 1,849 murder cases and 2,533 rape cases were reported across the country in 2020, a year that witnessed COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showed.

The NCRB, which functions under the Union home ministry, classified 19 cities with over 20 lakh population as metropolitans -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Pune and Surat.

Delhi logged the maximum 461 (24 per cent of 1,849) murder cases in 2020 followed by Bengaluru (179), Chennai (15), Mumbai (148) and Surat (116), while Kolkata reported 53, according to the data.

A total of 1,849 cases of murder were registered during 2020, showing a decrease of 8.3 per cent over 2019 (2,017 cases). The crime rate registered also show a decrease of 1.8 in 2019 to 1.6 in 2020, the NCRB stated.

Another 192 cases of 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder' were registered across the metropolitans with Delhi alone accounting for 57 of these cases followed by Lucknow (28) and Bengaluru (10), it showed.

During 2020, India reported a total of 2,533 cases of rape across the metropolitan cities, with Delhi accounting for the maximum 967 (38 per cent) cases followed by 409 in Jaipur (16 per cent), 322 in Mumbai (12 per cent), the NCRB data showed.

Bengaluru reported 108 rape cases, Chennai 31 and Kolkata 11 during the year.

Of the total rape victims in the 2,533 cases, 2,448 were above the age of 18 years while the remaining were minors, according to the NCRB, which is responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and special and local laws in the country.

A total of 35,331 cases of crime against women were registered during 2020, showing a decrease of 21.1 per cent over 2019 (44,783 cases), it stated in the annual crime report.

The majority of crimes against women were registered under 'cruelty by husband or his relatives' (30.2 per cent) followed by 'assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (19.7 per cent), 'kidnapping and abduction of women (19 per cent) and 'rape' (7.2 per cent), it added.