Bhubaneswar: Notwithstanding the bravado slogan of Commissionerate Police “We dare, we care” and a big claim of 100% crime detection when it comes to rapes, the perpetrators of sexual assault seem giving a damn to the motto of Commissionerate police if the calendar of rape incidents in the twin city are any yardstick to go by. Test check the following.
November 20, Cuttack: An eight year old girl raped under Barang police limits. As per Cuttack DCP Jagmaohan Meena, the perpetrator is living in the same vicinity as the victim.
November 16, Bhubaneswar: Sexual assault took place on a 7- year-old girl under Lingaraj Police limits in Bhubaneswar.
November 4, Cuttack: An alleged case of sexual assault on a girl student registered under the Purighat police limits. The perpetrator of gangrape was her boyfriend.
October 31, Bhubaneswar: Under Nayapalli police limits, a case of gangrape on a minor girl registered. And the accused were acquaintances to the victim. 690,660 790,000 14%up
October 1, Bhubaneswar: A case of robbery and gang rape registered under the Maitri Vihar police limits, where unknown miscreants robbed an apartment and gangraped the lone woman. 1195000, , 977000 22%
BHUBANESWAR – CUTTACK CRIME SCENARIO
A glance at the rape crimes registered in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack reveals the following
- Year 2023 saw registration of 135 rape crimes in Bhubaneswar and 92 in Cuttack (urban police department)
- A look at the trend shows during the last decade (2014-24), the rape count has increased in Bhubaneswar by 87.5%
- Similarly, in the neighbouring Cuttack urban area, the rape count rise during the last decade has been around 42.64%.
- A look at the population growth in the twin cities during the last decade drops a big clue.
- The population of Bhubaneswar clocked by 22% to touch 11.95 lakh; whereas the population in Cuttack was up by 14% to touch 7.9 lakh.
- An analysis shows that the rate of growth of population has been outpaced in a big way by the growth of rape crimes.
- The rate of growth of rape crime in the State capital has been 87.5% during the last decade vis-à-vis 22% population growth.
- In the neighbouring Cuttack, the population clocked only 14% growth vis-à-vis 42.6% jump in rape crimes.
- As per population-crime thumb rule, rise in rape crimes in tandem with population growth could make a sense of stabilization in the cases of sexual assaults in the twin city.
- But the sharp spike shows that the incidents of sexual assaults on women are rising rapidly in the twin city.
WHY CASES ON RISE: POLICE FAILURE?
A study of the police records over the last decade shows in nearly 98% of rape crime cases in the twin city, the accused are acquaintances (friend, neighbor, colleagues etc) to the victim.
An analysis of the above test cases also brings to fore the following.
- Of the 5 cases test-checked, the Maitree Vihar case is an instance of stranger rape.
- All other cases are instances of acquaintance rape, where the victims know the accused.
- However, the worrying trend to the fore in twin cities is in the instances of acquaintances rape, the victims were mostly minor (below 9 year old).
- As the cases of acquaintance rape are on the higher side, and stranger rape cases are on the lower, Police failure cannot be blamed entirely for the sharp spurt.
- But policing needs a perk up. How?
BOTTOMLINE: The above analysis shows that as the trend of acquaintance rapes high in the capital city and Silver city, Police failure can be seen in another way. The Commissionerate Police has to map the hotspots of rape crime in the twin city areas, and launch an awareness drive to sensitise residents there. With the help of civic organizations, the police can launch an awareness drive on the strict rape laws brought in after the Nirbhaya case, and more recently in BNSS. Police should enlighten the residents of the mapped hot spot areas in the twin cities. The carrying out of such an intensive drive will definitely bring down the raging incidents of minor rapes.
