Lengthy trials encourage crime against girls: Delhi woman commission chief

Delhi is not only “rape capital” but also “stalking capital” making it the most unsafe city for women, Swati Maliwal, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief wrote to Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday.

Delhi is not only “rape capital” but also “stalking capital” making it the most unsafe city for women, Swati Maliwal, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief wrote to Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday.

The increase in rapes was 4% in the Capital. But this is already a city where women are four times more likely to be raped than, on average, anywhere else in the country. (Shutterstock)

“According to data of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) for 2015, Delhi is not just rape capital but also stalking capital. Last week, a 23-year-old girl was set ablaze because she turned down a stalker’s proposal. I met that girl who has suffered 95% burns and is battling for life in hospital,” she wrote in the letter to Singh.

“We get so many complaints of this nature. However, the commission feels that after the initial registration of FIRs, the victim falls into the trap of systemic rigmarole. Justice is often delayed due to the high pendency of cases and delays in investigation and forensic reports.

“This has created an atmosphere in Delhi that has emboldened the perpetrators of crimes against women who have no fear of the system. Further, there is a high rate of pendency in forensic laboratories. The lack of sufficient number of fast track courts has also lead to high pendency in the courts,” she added.