Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi on Saturday attributed the five-fold rise in the number of crimes against women since the December 16 gang-rape incident to a renewed emphasis on truthful recording of incidents.
He said this at an interactive session — “Face-To-Face with the Government — This time with Delhi Police to Discuss the Burning Issue of Women Safety”, organised by the FICCI Ladies Organisation.
During his presentation, Mr. Bassi also provided statistics on the rise in the number of cases of rape, molestation and dowry harassment. The 1,636 rape cases registered in 2013 were more than twice the corresponding number — 706 — in 2012. In the first six months of 2014, 984 cases of rape were reported against 869 in the same period last year, he added.
The Police Commissioner said that prior to the December 16, 2012, incident, there was reluctance on the part of the police personnel to register cases as they feared it would indicate a failure to check crimes of such nature.
He added that such response from the police, coupled with the a sense of social ostracism faced by the women victims, also deterred them from coming forward and lodging a complaint. Mr. Bassi was of the view that an improvement on both counts was also a factor behind an increased number in registered case.
The police chief, however, acknowledged that the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, was also a contributing factor in making the staff more responsive.
“Now when a woman comes to a police station and a cognisable offence is made out of her complaint, she is not denied the registration of an FIR,” he added.
A similar trend was also witnessed in the overall crime figures. The total number of all cases reported in Delhi till June 30 stands at 71,523, which is more than double of 33,797 cases reported in the same period in 2013.
