Cases of crime against women came down over last one year in UP, Bihar
While crimes against women are on the rise across the country, NCRB stats for UP and Bihar reveal that numbers have come down over the last one year.
The latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will give the ruling Grand Alliance in Bihar something to cheer about. Bihar, often at the receiving end for bad law and order, recorded 13,891 cases of crime against women as per the NCRB 2015 data released on Tuesday against 15,383 in 2014. The overall number of crimes against women at the national level has also declined from 3.3 lakh in 2014 to 3.2 lakh in 2015.
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra recorded the highest number of crimes against women according to the NCRB data. Stats show women in the age group of 18-30 years are the most vulnerable to rape. Rape cases have also came down over the previous year — from 1,127 in 2014 to 1,041 in 2015. Figures reveal that 954 cases of rape in Bihar were committed by offenders known to the victims. Compared to Bihar, Jharkhand recorded 1,053 cases, Madhya Pradesh 4,391, Maharashtra 4,144 and Haryana 1,070.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had countered claims of poor law and order by describing it to be a “perception created by the Opposition”. The state recorded 16,871 cognizable offences against 6,76,086 recorded at the national level, i.e. 2.5% of the total number.
The state also reported 7,128 cases of kidnapping and 3,178 incidents of murder in 2015. Of the BJP-ruled states, MP and Maharashtra recorded 6,778 and 8,255 cases of kidnapping respectively, while 2,108 cases of kidnapping were reported from Gujarat. Neighbouring Jharkhand, however, registered 1,402 kidnapping cases.
However, what is worrying, as per the NCRB data, is that nearly 2,46,905 cases are pending investigation in Bihar, of which 69,946 are a carryover from the previous year and 1,76,973 are the cases filed in 2015.
Huge relief for UP’s Akhilesh govt
Meanwhile, for Uttar Pradesh — that has hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently especially the gang rape in Bulandshahr, the NCRB data has come as a huge relief for the Akhilesh Yadav-led government that had been facing flak from the opposition following the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s report over the spurt in crime against women in UP.
In the report tabled in the Assembly on August 23, CAG said incidents of crime against women have been increasing consistently over the last five years and they are much higher compared to the all-India average and most of the other state.
But NCRB figures released on Tuesday revealed that within a year (2014 to 2015) crime against women in UP is on the wane. Rape cases declined from 3,467 in 2014 to 3,029 in 2015. In 2014, 573 cases of gang rape were reported against 459 in 2015. Cases of kidnapping and abduction of women also came down to 10,156 in 2015 from 10,628 in 2014. The cases of abduction of girls, too, decreased from 2,621 in 2014 to 1,435 cases in 2015.
In 2014, 8,605 cases of assault on women to outrage her modesty were reported in the state, whereas in 2015, 7,885 cases were registered. But the sexual harassment graph maintained an upward trend – 4,445 cases of sexual harassment were reported in 2014 whereas in 2015, the cases increased to 5,925.
Stalking has turned out be a major concern for the working women. In 2014, 835 cases were registered which declined to 519 in 2015. In 2014, two cases of insult to modest of women at public places were reported whereas in 2015, 10 cases had been reported.
On the social crime front, women had relief, too. Cases of cruelty by husband or relative declined from 10,471 in 2014 to 8,660 in 2015. However, cases of Dowry Prohibition Act increased from 2,133 in 2014 to 2,766 in 2015.
After the CAG report was submitted, the state government defended the steps taken by police on the law and order front. State home secretary Kamal Saxena said according to NCRB data, the rate of crime in UP was less than the national rate.
The number of crimes reported against women in 2014 was 38,467 whereas in 2015, it came down to 35,527. Contribution of UP to all-India crime rate against women in 2015 is 10.9%.
Statistics also reveal that women have been denied instant justice. Investigation of a large number of cases is pending. The investigation of 38,935 cases of kidnapping and abduction, 30,175 cases of assault on women with intent to outrage modesty, 51,085 cases of cruelty by husband and 1,618 rape cases are pending.
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