NCRB data reinforces rape capital tag Minors involved in six crimes a day in Capital
MOST UNSAFE Latest National Crime Records Bureau data shows Delhi contributed to one in every three crime cases against women in 2016
NEW DELHI: Four years after the horrific December 2012 gang rape of a physiotherapy student, which led to a national outrage and several legal measures, Delhi remains one of the most unsafe city for women — a fact reiterated by the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics for the year 2016.
The national Capital, which has consistently reported an increase in the number of sexual crimes against women, has also topped the charts for crimes such as dowry deaths, acid attacks, cruelty by husbands, kidnapping and abduction and stalking, among 19 metropolitan cities of the country from where data was analysed.
According to NCRB data released on Thursday, Delhi contributed one in every three cases of all the crimes against women that happened in metropolitan cities and 4% of all the such cases in the country, with 13,803 cases. This is higher than the 13,260 cases reported in 2014.
Mumbai was a distant second with 5,128 cases registered in 2016. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, 1,031 such cases were reported in 2016.
Delhi reported 1,996 rape cases in 2016, up from 1,893 in 2015.
This year Delhi also bagged another notorious feather in its hat as it contributed the maximum percentage of crime to the statistics collated from the 19 metropolitan cities that include Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow
The Capital also clinched the top spot for the most number of rape cases, attempt to rape cases, acid attacks, dowry deaths, kidnapping and abduction, sexual harassment, forceful attempt to disrobe, voyeurism and stalking, confirming claims that despite several measures taken by the authorities, Delhi has remained unsafe for women.
“This is mainly about the way the city is structured. We keep talking about lighting and lastmile connectivity, but nothing has materialised. Crime is being reported because it is happen- ing,” said Ranjana Kumari, one of the many experts in the field who had presented arguments before the Justice Verma Commission that was set up after the December 2012 gang rape case.
Delhi Police, however, maintained that a high number of cases in the city is because of their provisions like E-FIR, and their attempts to proactively and fairly register all complaints.
“So, we are promoting and encouraging people to register FIRS. We register FIRS even based on complaints we have received over mail,” said Dependra Pathak, Delhi Traffic Police chief and the chief spokesperson for Delhi Police.
Referring to the rise in cases of rape registered in the city, Pathak said the number of such cases has dipped this year.
“Until November 15 in 2016, we had registered 1,910 rape cases, and 3775 molestation cases. These have dropped to 1,894 and 3,044 in 2017,” he said.
Noted lawyer Karuna Nundy spoke of how police’s ability in terms of forensics, strength of force, and bringing cases to conviction fast needs to be strengthened. “Bringing cases to conviction swiftly is what deters future crime,” she said.
Pathak said the police have solved more molestation cases in 2017 compared to last year. “In 2016, we had worked out 65.64% of the cases, while in 2017, we have worked out 76.34% of the molestation cases,” he said.
Kalpana Viswanath, t he co-founder of Safetipin, said that people end up focusing on Delhi, and forget to see that the problem is “spreading”.
“The more data we get, the myths that certain places are safe are being busted. Delhi’s crimes against women rates are high, but we also need to focus on how it is increasing in other places too,” she said.
“We need to do a crime victimisation survey, where you ask the public about their experiences even unreported ones, as such data is only about reported cases. Crimes against women are still under reported in our country,” she said. NEWDELHI: Last Friday, a group of five boys, all aged between 13 and 16, allegedly stabbed a teenager to death inside a moving bus in south Delhi.
Last year, a 17-year-old boy accused of murder came out of a correction home and went on to kill another person within days.
According to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), more than six crimes were committed by minors every day in Delhi last year.
The national capital accounted for 35.6% of all offences by juveniles in 19 metropolitan cities – places with population of over two million. A total of 2,368 cases against juveniles were registered in Delhi of the 6,645 cases registered across 19 cities. Mumbai comes a distant second with 946 such cases.
Data shows a lot of these crimes the minors indulged in qualified under heinous category. Minors were booked for 51 murders last year. On 81 other occasions, they attempted to kill.
Juveniles in Delhi allegedly committed 143 rapes and were allegedly involved in 295 other sexual harassment crimes such as molestation, stalking and voyeurism.
Dependra Pathak, Delhi Police’s chief spokesperson, acknowledged t he problem involving children but said the police have a limited role when it comes to preventing crimes involving juveniles. “Lack of healthy parenting and children dropping out of school also leads them to crime,” said Pathak.
“We are making extra efforts to wean children away from crime, but it is also the responsibility of other departments such as social welfare and education to help keep them in the mainstream,” Pathak said.
Most conversations around juvenile crime in recent years have centred around the age of criminality and whether in cases of heinous crimes, juveniles need to be tried in adult courts or not. But activists, NGOS and psychiatrists working with juvenile offenders feel that the dialogue should focus on why youngsters are being drawn into crime and what can be done to prevent this.
Poverty has always bred resentment, a root-cause of many crimes. But over the years, a fast-changing and developing society has introduced other insecurities.
Through 2016, minors allegedly committed 915 thefts or burglaries. But a lot of them also used weapons or other kinds of force to get their way. Figures showed that there were 377 robbery or dacoity cases perpetrated by minors.
Across India, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra led with 7,369 and 6,606 cases respectively, in which minors were booked in 2016.
The more data we get, the myths that certain places are safe are being busted. Delhi’s crimes against women rates are high, but we should also focus on how it is rising in other places too. We are making extra efforts to keep minors away from crime, but it is also the responsibility of other departments, such as the social welfare and education to help keep them in the mainstream.