Crimes against women in Delhi up by 16.9%: Data

Abstract

Delhi reported more cases of rape, molestation, kidnapping and cruelty by husband till July 15 this year, compared to the same duration last year, according to the latest data shared by the Delhi Police on Wednesday.

Overall, the city reported a 16.9% increase in cases of crime against women, compared to the last year till July 15.

Though the city reported a marginal increase in cases of rape from 1,033 last year to 1,100 this year till July 15, the Capital witnessed one of its worst cases of gang-rape and torture in January this year. A 20-year-old married girl was gang-raped, tortured, her hair chopped off and paraded through the streets of an east Delhi locality where her family lived. More than 11 people have been arrested in this cases, including eight women.

This was followed by another shocking incident the next month when an 87-year-old bedridden woman was raped and assaulted by a drunk man at her residence in Tilak Nagar.

Data, over the years, has shown that Delhi has had a poor record on women’s safety. According to the 2020 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, crimes against women in Delhi declined by 24.65% in 2020 as compared to 2019, possibly on account of the Covid-19 pandemic that kept people mostly indoors last year, the city still topped the Union Territories (UTs) in the number of rapes reported.

The maximum spike in the number of cases was reported under the cruelty by husband category (section 498-A/406 of the Indian Penal Code). Cases under this category reported a nearly 30% spike. While 2,096 such cases were registered in 2021, this year the number went up to 2,704. [Read More]