Here is a shocker for Odisha’s complacency on the law and order front: The State sits dubiously at number one position in the country with the maximum number of cases of stripping of women.
In this crime against women, the State has even left behind Uttar Pradesh as revealed by the 2014 National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Crime in India Report, which was released recently.
With a total of 1,142 cases and around 1,152 victims under Section 345B IPC, which means assault or use of criminal force on women with an intent to disrobe, Odisha with a national-highest crime rate of 5.5 tops the country in 2014. The NCRB data has put UP at number two with over 1,066 such cases. Even minor girls here were not spared as around 26 victims were below 18 years age.
An analysis further doesn’t reveal this stripping act in Odisha as any vendetta against caste conflict, a trend in northern India, rather a vengeful crime against women across the caste divide. Because, only 2.6 per cent of such disrobing cases in Odisha were filed under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. On the contrary, around 35 SC/ST victims or over 3 per cent of the total such victims have undergone this strip-off treatment by their own community.
It has been observed that almost 95-98 per cent of such strip-off cases were recorded in rural areas and urban slums. Around 2-4 per cent cases came from semi-urban centres, reveals the data. The reasons that flare up such crimes against women range from petty neighbourhood quarrels to anti-liquor agitations, practice of witchcraft and forced marriage.
Women activists blame greater degree of politicisation of rural policing in State for the rise of such heinous crimes against women. “Crimes against women could easily be nipped in the bud if police acted swiftly on first complaints by the victims. Their act of patronising powerful elements in the society bolsters the morale of law-breakers,” observed activist Tapasi Praharaj of the All-India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA).
Significantly, it seems the State Women Commission (SWC) has failed to rise to the occasion. Not only has the incidence of crime against women shown a rise, but also most importantly the rate of crime (anti-women crime per lakh women population) has crossed the 70-score mark in 2014 against the national average of 54.7.
The State is placed at number seven nationally in anti-women crimes and also in total gang rape cases, though it is not in top ten States in terms of women population in the country.
little fear for law looks evident as around 54 per cent of total women abductions in the State were cases of compelling the victims for marriage. This seemingly is evolving as a big problem in the State as over 33 per cent girl child kidnappings were for this reason only.
Experts feel it is the opportune time for the SWC to take a proactive role in holding liaison sessions with important stakeholders like police and civil society organisations in districts having maximum crime load. More so, a monthly review meeting needs to be held with the Home Secretary and the DGP, they observed.