GUWAHATI: Assam continues to be unsafe for women, with at least 3,009 rape cases and 17,106 cases of violence against women registered since the Sarbananda Sonowal government took charge in 2016. The revelation came during the ongoing assembly session on Monday in response to a question about crime against women in the state.
“After the BJP-led government came to power, at least 1,552 rape cases were registered in the state in 2016-17. Some 1457 rape cases were recorded between January 2017 and January 2018,” parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said. He added that at least nine women were killed after being raped during the time frame.
Official figures reveal that against the 3,009 rape cases reported, only 1,786 persons have been arrested and chargesheets issued against 1,697. However, only 76 have been convicted so far. Besides, 8,771 incidents of violence against women were registered in 2016-17. The figure went down slightly to 8,335 from January, 2017 to January, 2018. A total of 4,794 women were abducted between 2016-17 and 4,314 last year.
Patowary, replying on behalf of Sonowal who is also the home minister of the state, added that five ‘One Stop Centres’ to support women affected by violence in Asaam. They aim to facilitate access to an integrated range of services including medical aid, police assistance, legal aid, psycho-social counseling and temporary support services to women affected by violence. In Assam, Kamrup (Metro), Nagaon, Jorhat, Kokrajhar and Cachar district have these centres.
“Assam Police have prepared a standard operation procedure (SOP) in local language to address crimes against women. State police have been directed to take prompt action to women and children vulnerable during natural disasters,” the minister said.
The state has been witnessing a very high rate of crime against women in the country for recent years. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, Assam has the second highest crime rate in the country in 2016 in terms of crime against women. Against the national average of 53.6%, Assam registered mammoth 131.3% of crime rate against women. Crime rate is calculated as crime per one lakh of population.
Source: Times of India
* This news is as published by respected news daily, whose name is duly marked as ‘Source’. Lakhipuronline.in is not responsible for it’s sanctity & originality.