Maharashtra safest for women: NRCB stats

Thousands of women have gone missing or are kidnapped and taken to other cities either for prostitution or for cheap labour. 

As per the statistics by the National Crime Records Bureau, 7,830 women aged between 1 and 35 have gone missing or were kidnapped in the country from January 2010 till October 2012.

Maharashtra has the lowest number of such cases when compared to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. In the same period, 25 women aged between 6-18 were reported missing in Maharashtra and no kidnapping was reported. 

A senior police officer said that there is more awareness among women in Maharashtra as compared to other states. “Also, most women are educated and self-sufficient,” the officer added. 

The police and NGOs said most women from various states are usually brought to Mumbai and pushed into prostitution, forced labour and/or child labour. “In other states, women are either lured under false pretext of either marriage or job and are brought to metros or taken to other countries and pushed into prostitution or are forced to work as domestic helps,” said Gulab Kanulkar from Stree Chetna, a Chembur-based NGO.

Sayeed Khan of Right Way NGO that works towards finding missing children, said: “I have observed that there is a strong community bonding in Maharashtra which could be one of the reasons why there are not many cases registered here. Second, criminals are scared of the Maharashtra police department due to their way of handling crimes against women.”

Khan said Maharashtra is the hub where women are brought and sold for prostitution and there is an endless demand for young helps and cheap labour. “These girls or women are either used for prostitution or are made to work for cheap,” he added.

little.yadav@dnaindia.net