he data released by the Delhi Police pertaining to crime against women, shows a disturbing trend. Though more women are coming forth to report cases, the conviction rate is pathetically low.
As per the data released by the Delhi Police, of the 7,124 cases of crime against women registered this year, police filed chargesheet in only 324 cases and there has been only one conviction. The conviction rate in such cases since 2012 has been on the decline.
In 2014, 11209 cases were registered but only nine persons were convicted of their crimes.
The data was released after Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had asked the Police Commissioner for the information in the wake of Anand Parbat murder case.
Women Activists and lawyers blame the judicial system. “The entire system is corrupt. Though each case will have a different reason that it did not lead to conviction and we need to check at what stage the case falters, but it is an arduous journey for women, who have been violated, from filing a complaint till court,” said Vrinda Grover, lawyer and women rights activist.
In response to a letter written by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Senior Special Commissioner (Law & Order) Deepak Mishra said, “Proximity of the affluent and the under-privileged urban anonymity encouraging deviant behaviour, loosening of social structures and family control and adverse sex ratio, all have significant role as criminogenic factors.”
Majority of the crimes against women take place within the confines of the homes and only 3.5 per cent of such offences are committed by strangers, leaving very less opportunity for the law enforcement agencies to avert it, Delhi Police said.
“Delhi is now the second most populous metropolis in the world (according to a recent report of United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) and having a large floating population of almost 20 lakh per day with huge socio-economic disparities,” Mr Mishra wrote.
However, countering this view, DCW chairperson, Swati Maliwal said, “I feel that this may not be the best approach by Delhi Police and needs to be revisited. This is because even if the crime is occurring at home or workplace and is carried out by a person known to the victim, police has as significant a role to play as in any other crime,” she wrote in her response to the letter.
“The role of police becomes paramount in promptly registering a case, conducting effective investigation and filing a chargesheet in a proper and timely manner, thereby adding conviction in Delhi following which crimes inside and outside homes will automatically come down,” she wrote in her second letter to Mishra.
Since DCW is planning to conduct a study to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives of Delhi Police in creating a safer environment for women in Delhi, the commission had asked for the data.
“One of the outcomes of the study would also suggest ways and formats for digitising police records and develop a mechanism for digital tracking of cases and their status,” she said.
On August 1, she wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner, B S Bassi, seeking information about the number of complaints of crime against women, which included that of rape and molestation.
The role of police becomes paramount in promptly registering a case, conducting effective investigation and
filing a chargesheet
