Assam Records Highest Crimes Against Women for 4th Consecutive Year

Assam has the highest crime rate against women in India and this has been the fourth consecutive year that the state recorded highest number of crimes against women, this was revealed by National Crime Records Bureau report, 2020.

According to the figure revealed by NCRB, Crime in India 2020 report shows that the crimes against women in the state was 154.3 per one lakh population which is way higher that the national rate of 56.5. While Odisha stands at second position with 112.9 crimes and Delhi recorded 106.4 crimes standing at third position.

In 2017, the rate of crime against women in the state was 143.3 per one lakh population, in 2018, it was 166 and in 2019, the crime recorded against women was 177.

According to the report of NCRB, Uttar Pradesh, which registered the most cases of crimes against women at 49,385 against Assam which recorded 26,352 still recorded a crime rate of only 45.1 in 2020.

In 2019, 30,025 cases of crime against women was recorded in Assam and  27,687 cases in 2018. In 2020, Assam recorded 26 instances of rape-cum-murder/gang rape—the third highest figure in the country after Uttar Pradesh (31) and Madhya Pradesh (27). It recorded 1,658 cases of rape last year. There were 4,642 cases of assault with intention of outraging modesty.

"The figures could also indicate that unlike states where such crimes are not registered promptly, in Assam, survivors reach out to police," said a senior police officer requesting anonymity quoted by Hindustan Times.

On the other hand, Assam has also seen an increase in cases of dowry deaths as it recorded 150 deaths in 2020 compared to Uttar Pradesh which also topped in the crime rate for dowry deaths at 2.1. Assam also reported four cases of acid attack on women.

"The figures are worrying. We never recorded such a high number of dowry deaths earlier. The rate of crime against women in Assam could be very high as sometimes women tend to file false cases of cruelty against their husbands and in-laws. It could also be that more women are reporting crimes than those in other states," said Chikimiki Talukdar, chairperson, Assam State Commission for Women while quoted by Hindustan Times.

Of the total cases of crime against women registered in Assam last year, 11,408 were of cruelty by husband or his relatives. The state also recorded 1,496 cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of which 1,049 were of rape, 322 of sexual assault and 120 of sexual harassment.

The report of NCRB also stated that Manipur and Assam also recorded highest cases of sedition while Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand recorded highest cases of UAPA.

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