Jul 9, 2012: Bangalore next to Delhi in crime against women

TNN | Jul 9, 2012, 02.47AM IST

BANGALORE: This is one infamy Bangalore could have done without. The city ranks next only to New Delhi in the crime against women statistics.

The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2011 shows that Bangalore has witnessed 1,890 instances of crime against women. This accounts for 5.6% of such crime in the country. The corresponding numbers for New Delhi stood at 4,489 cases and 13.3%. Snapping at Bangalore's heels is Hyderabad: 1,860 cases and 5.5%.

The warning signs that the city was becoming unsafe for women were always there. Two BCom students were riding back home after Christmas carol session one evening last year. They were accosted by a group of hoodlums who tied up the boy and sexually assaulted the girl in front of him in a cemetery on Berlie Street, off Hosur Road.

There was a hue and cry over the incident as it was grim reminder how city was not safe for women. Police arrested the culprits in less than a week and claimed that the incident was only an aberration.

NCRB statistics now nail the police claim. The number of crime cases against women in the city in 2010 was 1,590 and constituted 6.5% of the national number. Besides, the city figured third among the cities in the category.

But police are still not ready to describe the situation as alarming. A senior police officer said: "The increase in the number of cases reported should be looked at in a different way. People are more aware of the need for reporting such crimes and they are coming forward to do so."

He, however, admitted: "But I don't think this is enough. Still there are many more cases to be addressed and if we are able to punish all those people, it will act as a strong deterrent."

The rising crime against women in Bangalore may be a new phenomenon. But the largest share of the crime is traditional in nature: of 1,890 instances of crime against women, 458 were cruelty by husband in the domestic sphere. There were 250 cases of molestation, 206 cases of kidnapping, 97 cases of rape, 53 cases of dowry death and 40 cases of sexual harassment.

In 74 of the 97 rape cases reported in 2011, victims were in the age group of 18-30 and 47 rapists knew their victims earlier.

Chilling numbers 2011-2010

Crime against women: 1,890 -- 1,590

Cruelty by husband: 458 -- 398

Molestation: 250 -- 308

Kidnapping: 206 -- 29

Rape: 97 -- 65

Dowry deaths: 53 -- 52

Sexual harassment: 40 -- 50

Crime against women

Delhi 4,489 cases (13.3%)

Bangalore 1,890 (5.6%)

Hyderabad 1,860 cases (5.5%)

Vijayawada 1,797 cases (5.3%)
Link: Bangalore next to Delhi in crime against women