Mumbai amounted for 10.4 per cent of the 20,2700 crime cases against women in 2012 including 17,800 IPC cases like rapes, kidnapping, murder, molestation etc, which is by a large margin, the highest in Maharashtra followed by Ahmednagar (5.2 per cent), Thane (4.6 per cent), Jalgaon (4.1 per cent) and Yaotmal (3.8 per cent).
However, what is even more alarming is the fact that despite efforts being undertaken by the Mumbai police to curb crime against women, the number of criminal offences in 2013 till July has seen a two-fold rise with 1,723 IPC cases being registered in Mumbai as compared to 2012, when 753 cases were registered. The statistics indicate that the margin of 10.4 per cent is likely to double by the end of the year.
The only exception is sale and distribution of obscene literature under section 3,4,6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibtion) Act 1986, where not even a single case has been registered for the last two years.
Joint commissioner of police, law and order, Sadanand Date who is in-charge of all the police stations in Mumbai differed on the subject. Mr Date said, “There has been a great degree of awareness after the Delhi gangrape incident last year in December. The steep rise in crime is because we are ensuring fair registration of FIR. Furthermore, we have taken strict action against those officials who do not register complaints.”
He added that the police had formed women groups at all the police stations and also made small videos to encourage women to immediately report crimes against them,” said Mr Date.