Maha is most unsafe for women in India

MUMBAI: Maharashtra topped the list of sexual offences against women in India in 2015, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra topped the list of sexual offences against women in India in 2015, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

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A total of 16,989 cases were reported in the state under crimes such as rape (4,144), attempt to commit rape (13), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (11,713) and insult to modesty of women (1,119). The state contributed to 13% of cases in the country.

Madhya Pradesh stood second with 12,887 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh (11,343), Odisha (9,359) and Delhi (9,104).

In 2014, Maharashtra registered 18,348 cases of various types of crimes against women, with 10,001 cases of outraging modesty of women. The state was closely followed by Madhya Pradesh, which saw 9,609 cases of outraging modesty. The number of cases across the country in 2014 was 77,747.

However, in case of crime rate — incidence of sexual offences per 1,00,000 women — Delhi (union territory) was the highest with 43.6, followed by Odisha (22.2), Assam (20.6) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (17.8). Maharashtra has a crime rate of 14.3.

The crime rate is a standard measurement for comparison of incidents of crimes. The bureau calculated the crime rate on the basis of total cases reported in comparison to the total population.

However, the rate for crimes against women, children, scheduled castes/ scheduled tribes and senior citizens were calculated on the basis of population of that particular segment.

“After the Delhi gang-rape case, more cases were registered. Moreover, the criminal law amendment act introduced section 166 (a), which provides six months to two years’ imprisonment for cops failing to register an FIR on a complaint of rape and molestation,” said YP Singh, a lawyer.