DGP: 657 women were raped in Haryana between Jan-june

CHANDIGARH:: More than three women were raped everyday in Haryana during the first six months this year despite the Covid-19 lockdown, director general of police (DGP) Manoj Yadava said on Friday, claiming 20.46% drop in incidents of crime against women.

He said as many as 657 rape cases were reported between January and June 2020 as compared to 803 last year.

“The rape cases show a reduction of 18.18%, while the kidnapping/abduction cases have dropped by 27.41%.There has been a sharp drop of 20.46% in crime against women during the first six months of 2020 in comparison to the corresponding period of 2019,” the DGP said.

He said in past six months 4,893 cases pertaining to rape, molestation, kidnapping, eve-teasing etc were registered as compared to 6,152 similar cases reported last year between January and June. The DGP said 1,259 less number of cases were registered during first six months of 2020 in comparison to last year which is “the sharpest decline in crime against women” and attributed this to “round-theclock vigil by Haryana cops.”

The Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in the last week of March and continued till May.

In June, the state exited the lockdown in a phased manner with restrictions on movement of people. Despite this, 4,893 cases pertaining to rape, molestation, eve teasing etc were registered in first six months.

The DGP said the overall crime rate has also reduced due to increased patrolling, new initiatives, presence of police and certain restrictions due to Covid-19 lockdown.

In the first half of the year, the DGP said, around 99% rape cases, 85.33% cases of kidnapping and 96.63% cases of molestation were successfully solved.

The cases registered under the POCSO Act also came down from 850 to 756, which is a dip of 11.05%, the DGP said. During the same period, cases of kidnapping/ abduction of women have also witnessed a fall of 27.41%. The total number of such cases dropped to 1,152 in 2020 from 1,587 reported last year during the same period.

The cases of molestation of women dropped by 7.99% as 1,128 cases were reported in the first half of 2020 in comparison to 1,226 in corresponding period of 2019.

The cases of cruelty against women under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code also went down to 1,588 as compared to 2,140 last year. This suggests a drop of 25.79%.

The DGP said the police are continuously trying to ensure technology driven preventive measures to ensure safety of women and children in the state.

THE POLICE CHIEF SAYS OVERALL CRIME RATE IN THE STATE HAS REDUCED DUE TO INCREASED PATROLLING AND NEW INITIATIVES OF POLICE

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