Sunday Times 2
Can nothing deter Delhi’s rapists?
December 16 changed Delhi, but unfortunately for the worse. With more than four rapes every 24 hours in the months after the brutalisation of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus on December 16 last year, the city’s ‘rape capital’ tag is more apt than ever.
There have been 806 cases of rape reported in the first six months of this year. All of 2012 saw 706 cases. That comparison alone yields the terrifying conclusion that Delhi’s rape epidemic has more than doubled in intensity.
The promises made by the Delhi Police and the Ministry of Home Affairs on securing the city’s streets for women have remained unfulfilled. The December 16 horror that stirred the soul of the nation did result in a dip in rape cases, but for just a fortnight.
Only four rapes were reported from December 17 through January 2, although there were 64 rape calls in the same period.
The numbers are not only back, but have rocketed in the January 1 to June 30 period. This despite Delhi Police promising increased police presence on the streets, more police vans and intensified checking in cabs and buses in which women travel at night.
Delhi Police has delivered; there are more PCR vans and there is more khaki on the streets, but nothing seems to deter Delhi’s criminals.
Nothing exemplifies this better than Tuesday’s Sangam Vihar incident, where a female officer of Delhi Police was first subjected to lewd remarks, and when she objected, a thrashing by local goons.
Going by police figures, East Delhi tops the chart with 120 cases of rape in the last six months, followed by Southeast Delhi and Southwest Delhi.
Nothing much has changed in the areawise trend as East Delhi was the most vulnerable in terms of rape cases in 2012 as well. Govindpuri was the police station where the most rape cases were registered last year. Forty per cent of calls related to rape and molestation that are received on the Police Control Room are from underprivileged areas.
Playing it down
Most of those involved in the crime are less than 25 years of age. According to the latest data of Delhi Police, around 60 per cent of the accused are aged up to 18 years, and 35 per cent of the accused in rape cases are in the 18-25 age group. Only five percent of rape accused are over 25.
Most of the victims are between 16 and 18 years of age, but those up to the age of 12 make up 15 per cent of the victims and those between 12 and 16 account for 25 per cent.
Police officers say they cannot attribute the increase in numbers of rape cases to lack of women’s safety in the capital. Senior police officers play down the charge that the rape cases have gone uncontrolled. In fact, they argue that “the number has soared as cases are being registered more now.”
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra told Mail Today: “The number of rape cases has gone up because more women are coming ahead to register cases.
“We are registering all the cases that come to us irrespective of the jurisdiction of the incident. This has given confidence to the women as well and they come to us without any fear.”
Before the December 16 rape case, policemen were not so serious about rape complainants. Complainants often encountered embarrassing questions in trying to report a case. Complainants are dealt with much more sensitivity now, said another police officer.
Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women Barkha Singh told Mail Today: “The role of police definitely plays a great role in controlling crime. However, when it comes to rape cases, it is not only police that can help in preventing the crime. This is a social problem and nothing can be done as long as the society is unaware of the issue.”
Marriage
Cases where women lodge a complaint against live-in partners or male friends who have cheated them on the pretext of marriage has also increased now, said Singh, adding this means that women are more confident in approaching the police, and this definitely adds to the number of rape cases.
juveniles in rape cases has gone up by
| Porn hubs breeding juvenile rapists
Children in Delhi slums are growing up on a noxious dose of porn and drugs, which is leading them into heinous crimes such as rape and murder. This revelation has come to the fore in a survey conducted by Chetna, an NGO working for the welfare of slum children. Areas like Sarai Kale Khan, Chuna Bhatti, Taimoor Nagar, Okhla Mandi, Kalkaji Temple and Punjabi Bagh house a number of such porn parlors, which play Bollywood films in the day and porn videos in the night. Most of the children involved in criminal activities, particularly rapes, come from slums in these areas as they try to imitate what they see in the movies, the survey says. A Mail Today team visited some of the slums in these areas and found ‘porn parlours’ running in the garb of tea shops and video game parlours. While at day time, these shops equipped with TV sets play Bollywood films, at night, the same place turns into a porn parlour, drawing homeless children. “We found out that most of the children who come to these places are homeless and have no means of recreation. These porn parlors give them both a place for entertainment and shelter,” said Sanjay, the director of Chetna. These places charge Rs 10 for watching porn for an hour and Rs 50 for drugs such as weed and smack. “Most of the children who come to these places are rag-pickers or manual labourers. Their daily wage is between Rs 100 and Rs 200 and they spend most of their earnings in these places,” said another resident. The fact that these parlours lead children into sex crimes is corroborated by the latest data of National Crime Records Bureau which reveals that the involvement of juveniles in rape cases has gone up by more than two-fold in the last one decade. Delhi ranks third in the number of juveniles involved in rape and murder cases. About 100 juveniles were apprehended for rape in Delhi in 2012 and most of them belong to underprivileged class. Nimesh Desai, director, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), said: “Scientifically, there are evidences to prove that things like pornography can have violent effect on children. However, it is not limited to underprivileged children only. Kids coming from any class of society can be misled by such exposure.” |
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