Crimes against women in Delhi up 16.9%

There were more cases of rape, molestation, kidnapping and cruelty by husband registered till July 15 this year compared to same period last year, as per data shared by Delhi Police on Wednesday.

Overall, in 2022, the city has reported a 16.9% increase in cases of crime against women when compared to the first half of 2021. While allegations of rape recorded a marginal increase — from 1,033 last year to 1,100 this year till July 15 — Delhi witnessed one of its worst cases of gang rape and torture in January this year.

A 20-year-old woman was gang-raped, tortured, her hair chopped off and paraded in the streets of an east Delhi locality where her family lived. Atleast 11 people were arrested in this case, including eight women.

The following month, an 87-year-old bedridden woman was raped by a drunk man at her residence in Tilak Nagar.

Data, over the years, has shown Delhi to have 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.

The biggest 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% rise.

Mishika Singh, an advocate and founder of Neev Foundation that provides legal support to the needy, said Covid-19 , the resultant job losses and work pressures could be one of the reasons in the spike in cases of cruelty by husbands.

“Mostly probes in these cases usually end with police calling two parties and making them resolve the problem. However, we have seen that such agreements don’t last long, resulting in the continuation of domestic violence,” Singh said. A senior police officer who has investigated such cases said the rise also means that more women are filing complaints against their family members, including husbands and in-laws.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Usha Rangnani, who has been part of the women-centric initiative Tejaswini, said: “The confidence of women in police has increased because of more presence of women officials on the roads, police stations and booths. That’s the main reason for more crimes against women being reported to police.”