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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Bengal stands tall on ‘unsafe’ list -Dwaipayan Ghosh

Bengal stands tall on ‘unsafe’ list -Dwaipayan Ghosh

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published Published on Aug 20, 2015   modified Modified on Aug 20, 2015
-The Times of India

KOLKATA: It was in 2004 that Bengal had perched itself on the top half of the list of crimes against women. Ten years have passed in between but the state has failed to shed its 'unsafe' tag.

The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows Bengal is still among the worst five performers as far as molestation, domestic violence, kidnapping of girls and human trafficking are concerned. Rape cases have declined, but the state still poses a threat to women, and is safer only than Uttar Pradesh.

Police brass claimed awareness has increased and they are focused on their 'commitment' towards women safety, but women organizations have a different story to tell. They attribute the rise in attack to political ineptitude and the general sense of lawlessness.

The findings show Kolkata has emerged a better performer — doing well as far as violent crimes are concerned — but there are still certain specific crimes, like voyeurism and stalking, where the city continues to register cases on a par with Delhi.

In total, Bengal registered 38,467 cases of crime against women in 2014. This is the second highest in the country. UP has bagged the top slot with 38,467 cases. Madhya Pradesh came a distant third with 28,678 cases. In 2013, when Bengal stood third, it had reported 29, 826 cases.

While Bengal has reported 1466 rape cases in 2014 (down from 1685 in 2013), there are still grey areas that remain bother the state. For example, the number of cases of cruelty by husband or relatives stood at 23, 278, the highest in the country. Also, the state has the highest importation of girls from foreign countries.

The NCRB data claims that out of 1466 rapes in Bengal, the victims knew the rapists in just 602 cases, or just 41%. Compare this with other states — in Tamil Nadu it was 99.9%. " This suggests that a lot of outsiders were involved in such attacks. Obviously, many of them were directed for political vendetta," claimed a lawyer.

When it comes to kidnapping and abduction of women, Bengal has reported 5062 cases, the third highest in the country (up from 3830 cases in 2013). There have been 687 attempts to disrobe women.

Police, however, claimed the figures were misleading. " We have neither under-reported incidents nor denied registering any case. Two, out of the 38,000 plus cases, 23,000 and more are of 498A cases that are always high in the state due to high awareness of it. Three, we always slap the stringent sections in cases even when a straightforward molestation case cannot be made out," claimed an officer.

But then, the NCRB data is used by NGOs to point out flaws in the claims. According to them, the total number of IPC cases registered through written complaints in Kolkata is 2,13,024. Add another 10,566 suo motu cases registered by cops. However, states like Maharashtra and UP have registered over 6 lakh cases. The total number of IPC cases in Bengal (1,85,672) is less than that of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

" In addition, look at other grievous crimes in Bengal. It has highest cases of attempt to murder (7248), attempt to rape (1656) and immoral trafficking (205) cases. The state is second highest as far as culpable homicide not amounting to murder is concerned and third highest in abduction. So crime against women is not operating in vacuum. It is a reflection of what is taking place on the ground," said Rishi Kant, a trafficking activist.

Amidst all the bad news, Kolkata finds solace in the fact that the city contributes just 4.2% to all crimes committed in cities in India. For Delhi, the percentage stands at 22.2.

The NCRB data has handed ammunition to the Left Front and the BJP. " Delayed legal actions and frequent character assassinations of a victim by investigators and politicians have emboldened the trend," concluded a senior MHA officer.

The Times of India, 20 August, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Bengal-stands-tall-on-unsafe-list/articleshow/48550348.cms


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