Imported rapists turn New Delhi into danger zone

That Delhi is the nation’s rape capital is well-known. What is not known is that a major chunk of criminals which has made it earn the dubious reputation are “outsiders”.

These are fly-by-night migrant labourers, mostly school dropouts aged 17-23 years, who come to the capital in search of work and disappear after 5-6 months.

According to a recent assessment by the Delhi Police crime branch, of the 185 rapes registered in the capital till May 15 this year, the accused in 52% cases were school dropouts.

“In most cases, the accused are dropouts who left school between the 6th and 8th grades,” a senior police officer said.

Over 84% of the rapes were recorded at 85 police stations, exactly 50% of the total number of police stations in Delhi.

“The people living in most of these areas [in northeast, south and northwest Delhi] belong to economically weak sections of society.

They are part of the migrating population that comes in search of work and leaves after a few months,” the officer said.

“These areas are semi-urban colonies that are densely populated. They have a huge number of clusters of one-room accommodations. The people living in these colonies are mainly daily wage workers,” he said.

The police assessment also revealed that in more than 96% of cases, the accused were known to victims. “There are cases where cousins or other family members assaulted girls,” the officer said.

“Though we have solved most cases, sometimes it is difficult to trace accused because they leave for their villages after committing crimes in the city,” he said.