The news of Pune woman thrashed for ‘Wearing Short Dress’ has gone viral on social media. The 22 year old was beaten and threatened by mob of men on 1st May, the girl’s only fault was that she was wearing short clothes and accompanied by two of her male friends. Pune is known as civilized city, now has become unsafe for women and crimes against them are increasing.
If you look at CID’s annual crime report that gives chill spine, molestation, sexual harassment, kidnapping and rape reporting is on the rise from 2013, and now it has only worsened. Atrocities against women in the state shot up by 46.08 per cent last year, with a simultaneous surge in atrocities against children, claims the annual report of the state Criminal Investigation Department.
During 2013, crime against women increased by 46.8% in the state: molestation (106.7%), sexual harassment (103.4%), rape (66.6%), kidnapping and abduction (64.4%), dowry (30.3%), cruelty by husband and his relatives (15.2%).
Out of all the crimes against women, 33% pertain to cruelty by husband and in-laws, for which the conviction rate is as low as 2.6%. In two years, the percentage has gone up by 20%. The conviction rate for sexual harassment and molestation is 11.5% and 11.9% respectively. However, there is a decline in crimes under immoral trafficking by 21 per cent, and murder for dowry by 17 per cent.
Cases of crimes committed against children were 6,410, up by 85.47% in 2013 this year they have further gone up. Around 197 cases were about child murders, of them six have been registered under infanticide and 191 as other murders. The incident of infanticide showed a decrease by 4.45% from 2012. Around 1,546 cases of rapes against minors were reported in 2013 up from 917 in 2012. The Mumbai Commissionerate ranks first in reporting child sexual abuse cases at 221, followed by Pune railway (89), Pune commissionerate (83) and Thane commissionerate (81). Rape cases in the under-10 age group were 242 in 2013 and in 127 in 2012.
It’s not only Pune city, but registration of cases involving crimes against women, including molestation and rape, has seen a steep rise in 2015 in the rural districts too, data released by Pune Rural Police shows. The information shows that there has been a 44 per cent increase in the number of molestation cases and 20 per cent rise in rape cases.
Officials, however, attribute the hike to ‘sensitisation of police’ about crimes against women and the ‘increasing tendency among women to come out and report sexual assaults’. In 2014, a total of 354 cases of molestation were lodged with various police stations under the jurisdiction of Pune Rural Police. The number of such cases in 2015 was 508. While in 2014, the accused were arrested in 351 cases, in 2015, arrests were affected in 502 cases. In both the years, the percentage of arrests remains at 99 per cent of the total number of cases reported.
Similarly, a total of 150 cases of rape were lodged in 2014, which went up to 181. In 2015, the accused in 179 cases were put behind bars.
The data released also shows that there has been a noticeable fall in burglary cases. In 2014, 807 burglary cases were registered under the jurisdiction of Pune Rural Police. The number came down to 647 in 2015.
Top brass police officers of Pune police claimed that the high numbers should be taken positively as it reflects better policing and awareness, which has prompted women to come forward to file complaints. Even though crimes against women have doubled in the city, the Pune police have claimed that they have taken ‘adequate’ measures to curb such crimes. Complaint boxes have been put up in various schools and colleges for a direct interaction with the police, maintaining anonymity. The police stations were directed that lady officer should do investigation of all women-related cases only. The move was intended to make the victims feel comfortable and thus discuss the case. This also was to encourage more women to come forward and lodge complaints.
It’s not only Pune in particular, but if you look at the state of Maharashtra a whopping 17,800 number of cases of crime against women and 3,456 cases of crime against children were reported in the state in the year 2012, the State Economic Survey report for 2013-14 said. The report, tabled in the State legislature, said that among cases of crime against women, 1,839 cases of rape, 1,140 cases of kidnapping, 329 dowry deaths, 7,415 cases of domestic violence, 3,935 cases of molestation, 1,294 cases of sexual harassment, 366 cases of illegal trafficking were reported. It said 212 children were murdered in 2012 and 917 cases of rape against children were reported that year, while 893 children were kidnapped, besides 199 children were found abandoned. There were 1,482 cases of crime other than rape, kidnapping and dowry deaths against women, while 1,023 cases of crime against children other than rape, murder and kidnapping were reported.
Here the big question is, when will all this stop?
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