By Alka Pande,
Lucknow, June 21 (IBNS) With about dozen rape cases in last three days, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh vies with the states of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal in crime against women, in India.
The alarming fact is that in most of the cases influential people, including politicians (mostly from the ruling party) and policemen are involved.
Besides, in large number of cases the victim is minor and is brutally murdered after the crime. In some cases the victim is also killed if she tried to resist the rapist.
Out of 72 districts of the Uttar Pradesh state, rape incidences have been reported from over 20 districts in last fifteen days. The government admits that there are cases of rapes and violence against women but blames it on the size of the state.
``It is a social evil on the increase because of crumbling social structure,’’ says the Director General of Police Karmaveer Singh.
According to him, five to six rape incidents take place on a daily basis.
Even the State al Human Rights Commission has taken a note of the frequent cases of violence against women in Uttar Pradesh.
The Commission has sent a notice to Secretary Home and Director General of Police of Government of Uttar Pradesh, demanding them to specify the action taken in such cases. The officials are expected to file their report by June 28.
Interestingly, the State Women Commission is keeping mum over such incidents. Taking a strong view of the Commission’s silence, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Rita Bahuguna Joshi has raised justification of its whole existence.
``If so many cases of violence against women have failed to shake the Women Commission, what will make it react?’’ Joshi wonders. She has demanded Scrapping off the Commission.
The incidences have given a peg to the Opposition parties in the state to corner the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which came to power riding on its slogan of law and order in the state.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have demanded that the Uttar Pradesh Governor should send a detailed report to the Central government on deteriorating law and order in Uttar Pradesh state.
Off late what triggered the reporting of rape cases was the shocking incident of Lakhimpur district, where a minor girl’s body was found hanging from a tree inside the campus of a local police station. The family of the victim had charged the police with attempt to rape.
However, despite rampant reporting of rapes and kidnappings and gruesome killings of women, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati refuses to admit that violence against women was in the increase.
Buttressing her point she blames her predecessors and says her government has inherited crime and poor law and order from previous governments who provided shelter to criminals.
``My government has tightened noose around the criminals and mafia. Speedy action is being taken in all the cases.’’
She also presents the latest statistics of National Crime Record Bureau, in support of her claim –
In Uttar Pradesh the crime rate at a population of 100,000 women stood at 11.9 whereas the national average was 17.4 per 100,000.
The similar statistics from other states is Andhra Pradesh 30.7 per 100,000, Rajasthan 26.2, Delhi 23.9, Madhya Pradesh 22.3, Haryana 21.9, Orissa 20.1, Gujarat 13.9, Maharashtra 13.8 and in Union Territories the crime rate was 22.1 per 100,000 women.
Even the national average of rape cases is 1.8 on a population of 100,000 while the incidences in Uttar Pradesh are only 0.9 per 100,000.
The statistics for other states is 1.4 in Andhra Pradesh, 5.3 in Assam, 4.3 in Chhattisgarh, 4.2 in Madhya Pradesh, 1.6 in Kerala, 2.5 in Haryana, 2.3 in Rajasthan, 2.5 in Orissa, 2.6 in Delhi and 2.6 in Chandigarh.
She also stresses on her party’s assurance to people of Uttar Pradesh, of improved law and order situation in the state.