A day after two Dalit sisters, aged 14 and 17 years, were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, the district police has managed to nab all six main accused in the case. While five of the accused were arrested on Wednesday, September 14, the police caught the sixth today (September 15) after an encounter. The autopsy report of the teenagers confirmed rape and death by strangulation.
While the Lakhimpur rape case has once again shocked the country's conscience, multiple past instances of the atrocity in Unnao (2017), Kathua (2018), Ranaghat (2015), Mumbai gangrape case (2013), Delhi gangrape case (2012) and the Delta Meghwal case (2016), among many others, have repeatedly questioned the safety of women in India. It is also a well-known fact that numerous cases are either go unreported or are not registered by the police.
The latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) found that the number of reported rapes increased nearly 20 percent from 2020 to 2021. A total of 31,677 rape cases, or around 87 a day, were reported in 2021. A total of 4,28,278 crimes against women were reported in 2021, an overall increase of 13.2 percent.
Most unsafe cities for women
Delhi was the most unsafe city for women, with 13,892 cases of crimes against women in 2021, a surge of more than 40 percent over the previous year. Of these, nearly 1,000 cases were of rape.
The capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur, reported the second-highest number of rape cases at 409, with the state reporting the highest number of cases at 6,337 cases.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, saw the third-highest number of rape cases in a city at 322 cases, with Maharashtra reporting 2,506 rape cases.
Indore was the fourth most dangerous city for women in terms of sexual violence in India, with 128 rape cases, and the state of Madhya Pradesh recording the second-highest number of rapes in the country at 2,947 cases.
Bengaluru was the fifth most dangerous city for women with 108 rape cases.
Also read: International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: History and significance
Uttar Pradesh remained the most dangerous state overall for women, with 56,083 cases of crimes against women.
Rajasthan followed at second with 40,738 cases registered.
Maharashtra was third with 39,546 cases of crime against women.
Despite Kolkata having the least number of rape cases and lowest rape rate among cities, West Bengal was in fourth position with 35,884 cases.
