Rajasthan reported more rapes this year than the last two
Cases of rape in Rajasthan reported during the first five months of this year were more than the figures for the same period in the last two years. From January until May this year, the Rajasthan Police filed 2,461 cases of rape, up by over 600 from 1,807 reported during the same period last year, according to a report by The Times of India.
According to the data sourced by the publication, the state had, in 2019, logged 2,298 such incidents during the January-May period. The figures also show that unlike last year, the state-wide lockdown over the coronavirus did not help bring down the cases. Last April, when a nationwide lockdown was in place, 193 cases were reported, but this year the number was a shocking 494.
Just last month, 390 rape cases were added to the state's tally. Explaining the surge in cases from last year, Additional DG (Crime) Ravi Prakash Meharda said that unlike the previous year, a staggered lockdown was imposed this time. "There were curbs on movement on people. But there were actually some exemptions in which people did step out," the official said, according to TOI.
The state police has linked the spike in cases to the mandatory FIR registration rule, which might have reduced the chances of local police officers declining rape complaints. Meanwhile, another official of the Jaipur Police said that the police has been more involved in the enforcement of the state-lockdown over the coronavirus and there was "little room for other cases."
Just earlier this month, a tennis coach in Rajasthan was booked for allegedly raping a 17-year-old player on the pretext of selecting her for some tournaments. In 2019, India had reported 32,033 rape cases - implying 88 women were raped in the country every day. Of those cases, 5,997 were from Rajasthan alone, according to the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.
