Crimes against women down but rape, POCSO cases up, latest Rajasthan data shows
As opposition targets ruling govt, BJP points to drop in major crimes
5 min read
Citing the crime data, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra took aim at the BJP government, which replaced the Congress government in Rajasthan at the end of last year. (Representative image)Latest government data from Rajasthan has pointed to a minor increase in crime so far this year when compared to the same period last year. It also showed that while the overall number of crimes committed against women have come down in the state, offences such as rapes and gangrapes, including that of minors, have increased.
At the same time, there has been a decrease in crimes against those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
According to the state government data for the period from January to June this year – July data is not yet available due to the implementation of the new criminal laws – a total of 1,65,875 cases were registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLLs). This is an increase of 0.08 per cent over the 1,65,748 cases registered under IPC and SLLs during the same period in 2023.
As for crimes against women, there has been an overall decrease of 1.52 per cent. Until June this year, the total number of such cases registered was 20,767, while for the same period in 2023, the number was 21,087.
Within this, there has been more than 12 per cent in cases lodged for outraging a woman’s modesty, apart from a decline in dowry murder and rape-murder cases.
However, there has been an increase of 10.28 per cent in kidnapping of women, and an increase of 8.03 per cent each in rapes of women and minor girls. As many as 2,758 cases of rape of adults have been lodged in 2024 till June, and 794 cases of rape of minors. Moreover, in over half the cases (51.79 per cent) of crimes against women, the investigation is still pending, as per the data.
There have been 11 recorded instances of rape with murder of adult women this year, compared to 19 for the same period in 2023. However, gangrapes of adult women increased by 7.19 per cent from 445 last year to 477 this year. Overall, the pendency percentage of investigation in these cases is 48.32 per cent.
Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, there has been an overall increase of 8.56 per cent this year, when compared to 2023. Gangrapes of minors increased by 10.16 per cent from 187 cases in 2023 to 206 in 2024. Here, the pendency percentage is 44.25 per cent.
Moreover, the decrease in cases related to atrocities against Scheduled Castes this year when compared to the last is 10.09 per cent. Cases of atrocities against Scheduled Tribes have gone down by 4.97 per cent.
The overall number of cases under IPC have seen a slight decrease of 0.53 per cent when compared to last year. While there has been a decrease in cases of dacoity, murder, and attempt to murder, there has been an increase in cases of kidnapping, theft, and burglary.
Under SLLs, there has been an increase of 1.65 per cent compared to 2023. There has been an increase in cases under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and the Excise Act, but a decrease in cases under Information Technology Act, among others.
Citing the crime data, Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra took aim at the BJP government, which replaced the Congress government in Rajasthan at the end of last year.
“The BJP made law and order a major poll issue (in last year’s Assembly polls), along with corruption and paper leaks. There are murders, rapes, rapes of minor, and atrocities against women every day. The crimes are increasing everyday, but controlling them is not their priority,” he said.
He charged that while the BJP came to power in the state after fighting the elections on this issue, “they haven’t held a single discussion on it in the Assembly in eight months, despite our repeated demands, as the figures were high.”
Dotasra said it was for the first time that the state Assembly has not held any discussion on law and order. “They don’t have an answer to this. They are not running a government, but doing nautanki (drama),” he said.
While the state Home Department is held by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, the Minister of State for Home is Jawahar Singh Bedam.
While the MoS could not be reached for comment, BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bhardwaj said, “There has been a decrease in major crimes such as murder, attempt to murder, extortion, gunfighting.”
He said that when the BJP government came to power in the state, it was “number one in all kinds of crimes. There was organised crime here, and gradually, it has all been finished. Soon, we will get pleasant results. The government is working with strong willpower.”
He also said that criminals enjoyed a free environment over the last five years under Congress rule, and claimed that this was why it is taking time to bring the situation under control. “While other crimes have been brought under control, these (crimes against women), too, will be brought under control,” he said.
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