One in every five killings in the national capital in the first six months this year was due to sudden provocations or over trivial issues, while enmity was the reason behind the maximum number of murder cases, according to the latest police data.

Of the 259 murder cases registered here during the period, 53 (or 20.5 per cent) were related to sudden provocations or petty issues such as urinating near somebody's house or parking.

The figure saw a decline compared to the corresponding period last year when it was 72 (30.4 per cent).

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik told PTI the improvement could be attributed to "higher police visibility".

In June, a 26-year-old man was bludgeoned to death with a cement slab after he slapped a person for urinating near his house in south-east Delhi's Govind Puri area.

In July, two persons were arrested for allegedly killing a man in northeast Delhi to avenge the death of their friend in northeast Delhi's Welcome area.

Enmity, family discords and monetary disputes together accounted for 50 per cent of the total killings in the national capital this year till June 30, the data showed.

While 68 (26.4 per cent) killings reported in the city were due to enmity, 39 (15 per cent) murders took place due to family discords and 24 (9.2 per cent) due to monetary disputes, according to the data.

Patnaik said there has been a slight increase in the number of murder cases due to enmity and disputes, while cases of "murder for gain" -- where robbery is the motive -- have declined as a result of better policing strategy.

In the first six months of 2019, the city saw a spate of killings.

In June, a 22-year-old man was strangled to death allegedly by his two juvenile friends after an altercation over money in Shahdara's Anand Vihar. The deceased had accused his friends of taking Rs 10,000 from his pocket when he was under the influence of drugs.

In March, a 26-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly killing a person, who had asked him to repay a loan of Rs 30,000.

Last month, a tutor was arrested for allegedly killing his wife and their three children by slitting their throats in South Delhi's Mehrauli.

The Delhi Police has solved 223 murder cases (86.10 per cent) in 2019 -- an increase of around two per cent over last year.

"There has been an increase in the detection of cases as compared to last year. It was 83.9 per cent in the first half of 2018 as compared to 86.1 per cent in the first half of 2019. By the second half of the year, we will have better results as the district DCPs have been asked to work harder and follow the cases closely," Patnaik said.

The number of cases in the "others" category -- when an unidentified body is recovered and murder cases are registered on the directions of court -- has increased to 58 in the first six months of this year compared to 37 during the corresponding period last year.