Women not safe in mega cities, reveals Parliamentary panel

Mega cities with modern police apparatus are not a guarantee for being safe for women, a Parliamentary panel has cautioned while noting that Delhi accounts for among the highest rates of crimes against women at 13.3 per cent of crime rate, followed by Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

Delhi accounts for 17.6 per cent rape cases, 31.8 per cent of kidnapping and abduction cases, 14 per cent of dowry deaths and 10.1 per cent of molestation cases among the 53 mega cities in the country.

“All these statistical inputs explicitly point out the fact that all the mega cities in the country have transformed as safe haven for criminals and anti-social elements who have scant regard for laws, law enforcement agencies and the legal system,’’ noted the panel.

Against the backdrop of the gruesome rape of a young Delhi girl in a moving bus, the Parliamentary panel has also warned that mega cities could become a "dangerous place" for women and children if government does not take appropriate measures in right earnest.

The Committee on Empowerment of Women warned that the mega cities are turning “safe havens” for criminals and suggested that there is also an urgent need to overhaul the “tattered policing system” in the country with an aim of giving it a human face.

The 74-page report, tabled earlier this week in the just concluded Budget session of Parliament, also noted that 33,789 cases of crime against women were reported from 53 mega cities with over 10 lakh population in 2011 as compared to 24,335 in 2010.

Spate of crimes

The panel headed by Member of Parliament Rajkumari Ratna Singh has noted that the spate of crimes against women in mega cities has not been contained and cases of rape, molestation, abduction of women and children have become a “daily, shameful affair”. The panel has suggested that the government set up an expert group to study the challenges faced in the form of increasing crime against women and children in mega cities and suggest “practical solutions” in tune with the needs of 21st century.