NCRB data: Sexual offence against women and girls reported every two hours in Maharashtra in 2020

Another 2061 rape cases were reported by women. Also, 20 women were raped and murdered. Incidentally, out of the 2,061 cases, the accused were unknown to the victim in just five cases i.e., less than one per cent. In the remaining 2056 cases, offenders were known, including 113 family members, 1047 friends, online friends, live-in partners, estranged husbands and those who promised marriage, and in 896 cases the accused were family friends, neighbours, employers or known persons. In a majority of 1,420 rape cases, the women were aged between 18 to 30 years (69% cases).

Unlike Maharashtra, where only five persons were unknown to victims, states that recorded the highest number of cases where the accused were strangers or unidentified are Rajasthan (264), Uttar Pradesh (201), Assam (200), Jharkhand (121) and West Bengal (116)

Overall, Maharashtra registered 31,954 cases of crime against women in 2020, a marginal drop of 5,190 cases compared to 2019. The total cases include heads like murder, attempt to murder, causing miscarriage, acid attack, kidnapping, abetment to suicide, dowry death and harassment, cruelty by husband, etc. This also includes 20 cases of rape and murder.

Only three other states recorded more such cases than Maharashtra — Uttar Pradesh (49,385), West Bengal (36,439) and Rajasthan (34,535).

The pendency and outcome of the crime cases also paint a poor picture. At present, 2.29 lakh cases are pending before courts for trials, another 59, 164 cases are pending for investigations. In 2020, out of the 4367 cases that completed trials, 668 ended in convictions i.e., 15.3% conviction rate, while in 3655 cases the accused were acquitted and in 44 cases, they were discharged.

Overall, in India, 3,71,503 (3.71 lakh) cases of crime against women were registered last year i.e., an average of 988 women registered complaints per day. The only silver lining is that due to the pandemic, crime cases dropped compared to 2019, when 4.05 lakh cases were registered.

Mumbai second to Delhi in recording crime against women

Among the 19 major cities that recorded 35,331 cases of crime against women, Delhi topped the list with 9,782 cases, followed by Mumbai with 4,583 cases, Bengaluru (2,730 cases), Lucknow (2,636), Jaipur (2,369), Hyderabad (2,390) and Kolkata (2001).