This crime has been treated as culpable homicide and, if proven, is usually accordingly punished by up to lifelong imprisonment or death. Bride burning has been recognized as an important problem in India, accounting for around 2,500 deaths per year in the country. In 1995, "Time" Magazine reported that dowry deaths in India increased from around 400 a year in the early 1980s to around 5,800 a year by the middle of the 1990s. A year later, CNN ran a story saying that every year police receive more than 2,500 reports of bride burning. According to Indian National Crime Record Bureau, there were 1,948 convictions and 3,876 acquittals in dowry death cases in 2008.