100,000 Fights, 13 Violent Calls Every Hour: 112 Data Demolishes Ahmedabad’s ‘Safe City’ Perception

The longstanding perception of Ahmedabad as a peaceful urban sanctuary is unravelling under the weight of official emergency logs. Widely celebrated for its strict prohibition policies and low rates of syndicated crime, Gujarat's financial capital faces an unsettling reality: public thoroughfares, residential quarters, and commercial hubs are gripped by relentless street hostility, brawls, and physical violence.

Newly accessed police log metrics from the 112 emergency helpline—spanning 334 days since its launch in late August 2025—shatter the "safe city" narrative. Out of 210,593 emergency dispatches recorded up to July 2026, a staggering 100,081 calls were triggered directly by physical fights, public brawls, and violent assaults.

That translates to a violent conflict logged every 4.8 minutes, or roughly 12 to 13 calls every single hour, around the clock.

The Daily Toll of Street Hostility

Far from rare or isolated flare-ups, physical altercations and street violence constitute nearly half of all emergency police responses across the metropolitan region.

Beat constables across police stations in Ahmedabad now spend the bulk of their daily shifts intervening in volatile, physical confrontations rather than handling routine municipal or civil grievances.

Knee-Jerk Raids vs Daru Pine Ke Baad Dangal

In the wake of the recent Bhavnagar spurious liquor tragedy, the Gujarat Police launched high-profile, state-wide raids and seized massive consignments of bootleg alcohol. Yet, the 112 helpline metrics reveal that alcohol-fuelled violence is hardly a new or sudden development for the city.

Out of 89,449 core calls involving public quarrels, assaults, and physical attacks, 17,050 dispatches were tied directly to drunken brawls and bootleg-fuelled hooliganism. This indicates that one out of every five violent incidents on Ahmedabad's streets stems directly from illegal intoxication. Despite strict dry-state legislation on paper, state-wide crackdowns appear to merely scratch the surface of a systemic crisis where intoxicated individuals routinely turn public markets and residential lanes into conflict zones.

Mob Aggression Spilling Into Public Spaces

The call volume reflects a broader pattern of mob mentality escalating rapidly in broad daylight:

• Vastral Mob Attack: A minor business dispute spiralled out of control when a mob of 20 men armed with swords and iron rods ambushed an SUV driver, battering him and damaging nearby vehicles.

• Vadaj Circle Fatal Lynching: Unverified online rumours regarding child abductors triggered a mob of 30 people to swarm an auto-rickshaw near Juna Vadaj Circle. The group dragged four women into the street and launched a physical assault, resulting in the death of one woman.

Emergency Control Room Under Constant Pressure

The hostility extends beyond open streets and into domestic spaces. Alongside street fights, the 112 control centre registered 5,583 calls for Threat to Life, 4,769 for verbal abuse, and 3,749 for domestic violence, with another 5,842 dispatches for women or children in distress.

While Ahmedabad continues to report lower rates of gang-related syndicate crime compared to other major Indian metropolises, a steady rate of 13 violent calls every hour exposes deep-seated friction, fundamentally altering the perception of public safety in the city.