Almost four years after of the brutal gangrape of a paramedic in the Capital, the Delhi Police has failed to provide safety and security to the girls and women. The rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar area is a grim reminder that girls and women are not safe in the very Capital of the country. It is evident by the imprudent action by the law enforcing agencies that the measures taken in the aftermath of the December-16 gangrape were knee-jerk reactions to appease a furious public. The situation remains more or less the same post Nirbhaya gangrape case. What is more worrying is the fact that there has been an alarming increase in the cases of rape in the city.
The gravity of situation could be judged from the fact that Delhi has recorded a staggering increase of over 200 per cent in rape cases since December 16, 2012 gangrape in the moving bus. Police have registered some 1,200 cases till July. Not only rape, incidents of molestation, eve-teasing, stalking and outraging the modesty of women have considerably gone up.
Delhi Police officers deny that the unprecedented rise in this crime has made the national Capital highly unsafe for girls and women. They say that the rise in the figure is due to the ‘free and fair policy of registration’ adopted by the force on the instructions of former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi.
“There are standing instructions to the rank and file to register a case under the relevant Sections once a girl/woman approaches a police station with her complaint”, a senior police official said.
The then Commissioner of Police, BS Bassi, had ordered free and fair registration of cases. Now girls/women are coming forward and the substantial rise in the crime figures pertaining to cases against women is borne out of the changing mindset of the victims. The figures paint a grim picture nevertheless.
Delhi had recorded 632 rapes in 2012 and the same figure jumped to 1,493 in 2013. The cases of rape stood at 2,095 in 2015 as compared to 2,085 in 2014.
Cases of molestation went up to 3,237 in 2013 compared to 632 in 2012. This was a whopping 500 per cent increase and that was a black spot in the city. There were 5,192 cases of molestation in 2015. If we compare this to 2012 (before December 16 gangrape in the moving bus), there has been more than 800 per cent increase under this head.
Cases of eve-teasing and stalking too have gone up manifolds from 165 in 2012 to 852 in 2013. According to the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Delhi Police had registered 572 rape cases in 2011 as against 507 rape cases reported in 2010. The figure stood at 469 in 2009. In 2008, the figure was 466, while in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 the figures were 598, 623, 658, 551, 490, 403 and 381 respectively. After the free and fair registration was launched by the then police chief, the rate of registration has gone up manifold.
It may be recalled that the December 16 gangrape had created outrage across the country and Delhi witnessed unprecedented spontaneous protests at India Gate. Faced with tough questions, the political class ducked for cover and placed the entire blame on the Delhi Police with the then Delhi Chief Minister going ballistic with her demands to oust then Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and then petitioned the Centre to transfer Delhi Police under the control of the city Government.
When asked about the rising incidents of crime against girls and women, Delhi Police officers said that they have left no stone unturned in providing safety and security to women in the Capital and several steps have been initiated and enforced in the aftermath of the unfortunate December 16 gangrape. Efforts made by Delhi Police have reaped benefits and men and officers have been asked to be vigilant in ensuring the safety of girls and women. All police stations now have women helpdesks that function round-the-clock. Police helpline ‘100’ has been increased from 60 to 100 and there are standing orders to register cases anywhere in the Capital without bothering about jurisdiction.
Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWC) headed by Special Commissioner of Police Sundari Nanda has been working for redressal of complaints and grievances of women in distress. Rape Crisis Intervention Centers (RCICs) have been further sensitised with trained women police officers who deal with sexual crimes. Women police officers have been posted in all the police stations to investigate incidents of rape. Efforts are on to file chargesheet against the accused within three months, a senior Delhi Police officer said.