Crime against women: RTI reply reveals sorry state of detection

TNN | Oct 24, 2012, 03.27AM IST

AHMEDABAD: An application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed with the state police by a city-based group revealed that in 95 per cent of the total cases of crime against women between 2001 and 2009, the investigation is either pending with the courts or is abandoned due to lack of any further leads.

Citizen Resource and Action Initiative (CRANTI) had filed an RTI in 2009 with the state police to know number of crimes against women in various districts, how many of the persons were arrested in connection with these cases and what actions have been taken to prevent cases such as robbery and rape.

Bharatsinh Zala, a CRANTI member, said that the data revealed that in nine years between 2001 and 2009, the state reported 2,569 cases of rape, 1,664 cases of robbery (like chain snatching), and 2,177 murders of women. Ahmedabad city has reported the highest number of rapes (317) and robberies (849).

"Interestingly, we got to know that the inquiry and judicial process is over in only 3 per cent of the total cases. While many of the cases are still under investigation, in most of the cases, especially robbery, the investigators have shown lack of any further progress. In cases such as rape, the number of pending cases is alarming," said Zala.

He added that they had to appeal to the state information commission to get the data that was not provided to them in stipulated time.