Delhi sees 139% rise in rapes; molestation cases up by 500%

With 139.26% rise in rape cases as compared to last year, the national capital continues to fight with the shame of being the rape capital of India.

In 2012, 433 rape cases were recorded in Delhi whereas till 15 August this year, 1,036 cases have already been registered in various police stations across the city. Similarly, cases of molestation have witnessed a rise of 495.01%. Last year, 381 cases of molestation were registered which shot up to 2,267 in the past eight months.

The police sees a silver lining to this cloud. “On one hand, we can say that cases of rapes and molestation have increased, but on the other, we can say that more cases are now being registered. No doubt, we have taken measures and registering of cases is one of them,” said Deepak Mishra, special commissioner of police, Law and Order. “The police is doing its duty and we would try our best to make the city safer for women.”

Over eight months after a 23-year-old para-medical student was brutally gang-raped by six people in a moving bus in south Delhi, the police had announced a slew of measures to make the city safer for women. However, it seems that the steps have been taken on paper as women still feel unsafe in Delhi.

Women helplines, creation of women help desk in police stations, surprise checks in public places and public transport, CCTV cameras in markets, increase in patrolling, establishment of all women police stations, liaison with rape crisis intervention centres, and many such safety measure are said to have been taken by the police. But only a handful of them have shown results so far. Others, just create confusion.

There are four helpline numbers operational in the city. A woman in trouble has to choose from 100, 1096, 1091 and 181 when in trouble. If a woman is in the same situation as that of the para-medical student, she would barely be able to make a call, let alone remembering the correct helpline number.

NGOs working towards women security feel that these half-hearted measures won’t curb such incidents. The judiciary, too, needs to be active in unleashing severe punishment to the accused, they say.

“In a majority of rape cases, the accused escapes because there are too many loopholes in the our judicial system. I have seen several cases where the victim reverted from her statement because the judiciary didn’t give her enough assurance that she would get justice. In the 2012 Hisar gang rape case, the victim lost in court because of lack of evidence and all those who were guilty are roaming freely,” said Rishikant, official at Shakti Vahini, an NGO which works for rape victims.

Kidnapping and robbery cases are also quite rampant in the city and these have seen an increase of 33.45% and 33.80% respectively, as compared to last year. However, murder cases have witnessed a decline of 13.27%.