Marriage motive skews 2015 abduction stats

Women were the targets of 70% of abduction cases in the country in 2015 but marriage, and not ransom, was the primary motive in 53% of the cases, according to national crime statistics released this week.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said 31,800 women were taken against their will for marriage, out of 60,000 abducted.

This figure also includes cases where parents reported that their daughters were forcibly taken away when they may have eloped.

The NCRB statistics also show that over 780 abduction cases were booked against juveniles. In four cases, the accused was below 12 years. Of the rest, most of the juveniles were in the agegroup of 16-18.

At 8,290, Uttar Pradesh registered the largest number of cases. Bihar came next, with 4,444 cases while Assam registered 4,141.

Cities with 53 million-plus population accounted for 3,100 such cases. The remaining 28,700 were registered in towns and villages.

In contrast, 770 cases of abduction where a demand for ransom was made were registered across the country. This includes 178 cases registered in cities.

It is, however, likely that many cases would go unreported to the police since victims who were paid may not report.

Through 2015, police arrested 38,500 people – mostly men – for abducting women for forced marriages and charge-sheets filed in nearly 24,000 cases.