The most populous district and the industrial hub of the state has also earned the unsavoury tag of being the most unsafe for women, leading as it is in crimes against women, as per data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Though Ludhiana saw an improvement in the number of crimes against women reported in the district as compared to 2019 and 2018, it still reported more cases than other districts.
Punjab cumulatively registered 4,838 cases of crimes against women in 2020, of which 418 were reported in the Ludhiana Commissionerate. Patiala was second in the state with 340 cases, while Jalandhar and Amritsar reported 221 and 227 cases, respectively.
The district had recorded 595, 662 and 535 crimes against women in 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Cops attribute the improvement in statistics to the pandemic-induced lockdown. An official, requesting anonymity, said, “Movement was restricted due to the lockdown. Moreover, minor girls, who are vulnerable to sexual assault, especially in labour quarters, remained safe as their parents were with them all the time.”
Of the 37 rape cases reported in 2020, 36 were against women who were of age. Forty-five cases of use of criminal force against women with intent to outrage her modesty, 12 cases of cyber crime and 74 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were also registered.
{{/usCountry}}Of the 37 rape cases reported in 2020, 36 were against women who were of age. Forty-five cases of use of criminal force against women with intent to outrage her modesty, 12 cases of cyber crime and 74 cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were also registered.
{{/usCountry}}Gruesome hall of fame
A drug addict murdered his elderly mother in Haidon village on September 13, 2000. The accused slit his mother’s ankles and she bled to death. The 70-year-old victim was the widow of a war hero. The couple had adopted the accused.
in another case, a 30-year-old mentally unstable woman who had lost her way while returning from a shrine was gang-raped by an auto-rickshaw driver and his accomplice on November 23, 2020. The next day, the woman was found in Ganna village of Phillaur, 20km away from Ludhiana.