SARGODHA: According to police officials, crime rate in Sargodha decreased by 13 percent during the year 2016 as compared to 2015. Sargodha Regional Police Office spokesman on Saturday said the number of murders came down to 163 in 2016 as compared to the 187 murder cases reported during the year 2015. As many as 42 persons, including nine women, were reported to have committed suicide during the year. According to a statistical report by the police, a total of 350 cases of general abduction were reported in 2016. 75 cases of rape, 6 cases of gang rape and 75 cases of violence and harassment against women were reported in 2016. In 2016, robbery cases decreased by 93 percent in the city. Only one case of robbery was reported as compared to 15 in 2015. Moreover, cases of motorcycle theft decreased by 18 percent this year. As many as 105 people were killed in traffic accidents during the year 2016. The spokesman said that the teams of different police stations of Sargodha had arrested a total 351 court absconders and 2436 proclaimed offenders, out of which 612 were included in category A and 824 in Category B. With regards to the drive against illegal arms and ammunition, police recovered 50 Kalashnikovs, 6 hand grenades, 806 pistols, 195 guns, 91 revolvers and 150 rifles along with 57698 cartridges, bullets and magazines. Furthermore, during the drive against drug pushers, the district police had seized 450 kilogrammes of hashish, 15 kilogrammes of heroin and opium, 85,000 bottles of liquor and raided 22 distilleries of liquor.