Sagar
Bhubaneswar: The twin cities reported 129 rape cases in 2015, the highest in the past five years. At least 90 of the victims are minor girls, said Commissionerate police sources Monday.
In Bhubaneswar alone, of the 87 reported rape cases, 59 victims were minor. The 2014 data records 43 rape cases, 27 in 2013, two in 2012 and 2013 in Bhubaneswar and the figures show a steep rise in crimes against minor girls.
The number of rape cases against women in the last five years in the twin cities is: 129 in 2015, 138 in 2014, 81 in 2013, 84 in 2012 and 54 in 2011.
Police commissioner RP Sharma, however, blamed it on rising openness and freedom among new generation that allows more interaction between the opposite genders.
“The main reason for the rise in number of rape cases is love affairs between teens. These affairs often turn into consensual sexual relations. But, when it does not materialise into marriage due to societal or parental opposition, cases against men in such instances have to be booked under rape provisions since the complainants are victims,” Sharma said. In at least 45 cases, the reason of rape was stated to be love affairs, the data revealed. The city also saw two gangrapes last year. Sharma warned that due to such social changes, rape cases against minor girls would continue to rise.
Among other heinous crimes, cases of reported robbery also saw a steady rise in the past five years in the city: 156 in 2015, 123 in 2014, 88 in 2013, 81 in 2012 and 76 in 2011.
The commissioner said since snatching had become a huge menace, the police were instructed to register snatching cases under robbery section of Indian Penal Code to ensure the snatchers do not get away from law.
Calling bike-theft, mobile and laptop thefts and chain-snatching as some of the most annoying daily crimes occurring in the twin cities, the commissioner said of the 156 robbery cases, 43 were chain snatching. In 2015, 22 cases of house robberies and 34 of highway robberies were reported.
The number of burglaries in the city has come down slightly from 286 cases reported in 2014 to 266 in 2015, the data revealed. On an average 43 cases of murder have been recorded in last five years in the city, according to the official data, and it has been almost steady. In 2015, 44 murder cases were reported while 42 in 2014, 49 in 2013, 46 in 2012 and 34 in 2011.
The commissioner said most of the murders committed in the city are due to dowry torture. Of the 44, 15 murder cases were of dowry homicide.
The crime against Dalits has also seen a constant rise in the twin cities in the last five years. The data revealed 117 cases under SC/ST (PA) Act were registered last year and 85 in 2014, 80 in 2013, 54 in 2012 and 38 in 2011.
It’s worth mentioning here that the commissionerate police have not taken special measures to deal with crime against Dalits on the lines it did to stop crime against women by starting projects such as pink autos, security apps, registration of girls’ hostels etc.
Taking on land mafia, the commissionerate police booked 47 cases against builders and arrested 53 builders last year, compared to 68 cases registered against builders in 2014.
In 374 accidents occurred in city roads last year, 80 persons died while 178 were grievously injured. While the police boosted percentage of detection in heinous crimes, police action against robbers appeared woefully bad. In 2015, out of the robbery cases, in only 66 per cent cases, the investigation has been completed or underway, while in only 40 per cent burglary cases the same has been done. Further, investigation has been completed only in 33.5 per cent of theft cases.PNN
