Women living in Karnataka, especially in Bangalore, have little to cheer about as the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released the statistics on crimes against women for 2011. While Karnataka ranks 10 in terms of percentage share to the overall national figures of crimes against women, Bangalore is the second highest contributor when cities of the country are compared.
In fact, Bangalore has moved up from position three to position two it occupied in 2010 on this count.
Hyderabad, which ranked second last year, is now in the third place. While Bangalore recorded 1,570 crimes against women in 2010, it has registered 1,890 cases in 2011. The only solace is that that Bangalore is still a distant second after Delhi, which has consistently remained on top. The national capital recorded 4,489 crimes against women, up from 3,886 in 2010. In the country as a whole, the year 2011 saw 2,28,650 incidents of crime against women as against 2,13,585 in 2010, recording an increase of 7.1 per cent. In Karnataka, there is a steady increase in the recorded number of crimes over the last three years. While it was 7,852 in 2009 and 8,807 in 2010, 9,594 crimes against women were registered in 2011.
In terms of the overall rate of total cognisable crimes against women, Karnataka stood at 15.7 per cent (up from 15 last year), which is lower than the national average of 18.9 per cent (up from 18 last year). Karnataka ranks number two cases under the Dowry Harassment Act, of which the national rate of rise is 0.5 per cent and the total number of crimes, 6,619. As many as 605 cases (70.7 per cent) under Dowry Prohibition Act during the year 2011 were registered in Bangalore city.
Under this head, 18.3 percent of crimes (1210 cases) were registered in Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh topped the list by contributing 28.7 per cent to the national figures.
Bangalore ranks number four in rape cases at 3.8 per cent, with Delhi at the top (17.6 per cent), followed by Mumbai and Bhopal. Karnataka’s capital is number four in cases of kidnapping as well as molestation.
