Impact of Covid-19 on Firearm-related Deaths in Varanasi Region: A comparison in trend from 2017-mid-2021

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine any change in the pattern of fatal firearm cases in Varanasi district, India, which could be linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 on psychological and sociological aspects has been explored by many studies done across the world; however, the impact of the pandemic on homicides and crime rates still requires further research worldwide as well as in our region. A total of 128 cases from a span of four and a half years have been taken into consideration. These cases were brought to the mortuary of the Department of forensic medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. When the data for the last three years, i.e., from the year 2017 to the year 2019, was compared with the trend of data from the years 2020 and 2021, a rise in cases of suicides was observed in 2020 with no substantial rise in homicides through the firearm. Further studies and deeper insights are required in such studies as it will help the law enforcement agencies get a clearer picture of the rise in homicides through firearms and highlight the issue of using unlicensed firearms in our region. This will communicate the urgent need to inculcate new and stricter laws and implement the amended ones to tackle the problem efficiently.