Nagpur, December 27: The Maharashtra government will fill up 12,000 posts of police constables and orders to recruit 5,295 of them will be issued soon, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said here on Sunday. He also said that the crime graph in Nagpur city has come down sharply compared to the year 2019.

"A total of 12,000 posts of police constables will be filled in the state police. 5,295 such posts will be filled in the first phase very soon. Necessary orders will be issued to unit commanders," Deshmukh, an MLA from Katol constituency in Nagpur district, told reporters. Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine's Efficacy Rate Will be 'Around 95%', Claims AstraZeneca CEO Ahead of Likely Rollout in UK and India.

Deshmukh said a horse-mounted police unit would be set up in Nagpur, which is the second capital of Maharashtra, on the lines of the Mumbai Police. He said police personnel will be given body cameras. When asked when more than 11,000 inmates of various jails in the state who are currently on parole will be sent back to jails, Deshmukh said the threat of coronavirus is not over yet.

Deshmukh said the crime graph in Nagpur city has come down compared to the year 2019.

"Against 90 murders in 2019, Nagpur city registered 88 murders. 127 robberies were registered this year as against 147 such cases recorded last year. A total of 21 chain- snatchings were reported this year compared to 56 last year," he said.

Similarly, the number of rape cases stood at 152 compared to 163 such cases last year, he added. He said the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) 2019 data showed a high crime rate in Nagpur per one lakh population. Thali Bajao Protest: Farmers' Protesting at Singhu Border Clang Plates, Raise Slogans Against Farm Laws During PM Narendra Modi's Mann ki Baat.

"However, the NCRB had based its data taking into consideration the population of 25 lakh, but the population exceeds 30 lakh if (areas under) police stations from rural Nagpur are counted," he said.