'City's anonymous character aids crime against women'

Delhi, with its total population of around 17 million residents and a high migration rate of over 3 lakh people per year, might be the preferred destination of those looking to settle in the country. Abhishek Sharan reports.

Delhi, with its total population of around 17 million residents and a high migration rate of over 3 lakh people per year, might be the preferred destination of those looking to settle in the country.

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The city's burgeoning migrant population, however, is also rendering it an anonymous, solitary character that triggers crime, especially that like rape against vulnerable women.

Reacting to a spurt in cases of rapes/gangrapes in the city, wherein four such incidents occurred this month alone, crime experts pointed out that the city's anonymous character due to a higher rate of influx of migrants works at two levels.

While the offender, a molester or rapist, feels confident about "melting into the crowd" easily, there is public apathy towards those in distress.

"Delhi is anonymous in a way Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore or Mumbai is not. It is far easier in Delhi to commit a rape or any other crime against women than in other cities," said criminal psychologist Dr Rajat Mitra.

"Delhi has a unique character; the sense of belonging here is very less when compared to the other big cities of India," Mitra, who heads the NGO Swanchetan Society for Mental Health added.

Former Delhi police commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma echoed Mitra's contention.

"Delhi's large migrant population makes the city relatively anonymous, which makes a person confident of melting in the crowd after committing a crime." Sharma added, "The police needs to dominate the scene, otherwise these criminals would; there cannot be a vacuum," he said.