India, Oct. 2 -- Pune has witnessed a sharp surge in economic offences over the past three years, with cases rising by 71% between 2021 and 2023, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The city reported 705 cases of economic offences in 2021. The number went up to 1,023 in 2022 and further increased to 1,207 in 2023. Officials said the steady rise reflects the growing challenge of financial crimes such as cheating, fraud, criminal breach of trust and forgery.

According to NCRB, Pune registered an economic offences rate of 23.9 in 2023 and achieved a chargesheeting rate of 97.3 per cent, placing it third among metropolitan cities. Only Patna with 97.7 per cent and Kolkata with 97.4 per cent wer...