Odisha Registers 17.9% Rise In Rape Cases In 2019

Bhubaneswar: Amid the tall claims of the Odisha government that it has been taking all the necessary measures to stop crime against women, the State has recorded a sharp rise in rape cases in 2019 as compared to 2018.

As per the written reply by Minister of State (Home), Dibya Shankar Mishra in the State Assembly, the State witnessed a 17.9 per cent rise in rape cases in 2019 by registering 2,950 cases as against 2,502 cases in 2018.

While replying to a question from BJD MLA Umakanta Samantray said, the Capital city of Bhubaneswar witnessed a 22.2 per cent rise in rape cases with the urban police district registering 149 cases in 2019 as compared to 122 cases in 2018.

Among other districts of Odisha, a highest of 203 rape cases were registered in Mayurbhanj district while 166 and 128 cases were registered in Jajpur and Ganjam district respectively.

Besides, cases of women trafficking increased by 129.4 per cent in 2019. While 51 women were trafficked in 2018, it went up to 117 in 2019.

Molestation cases also increased to 6,848 in 2019 as compared to 5,875 in 2018. Incidents of stalking of women, which was 281 in 2018, also went up to 351 in 2019. Odisha also registered a 13.1 per cent rise in cognizable offence in 2019.

While the date shared by Mishra in the Assembly seems alarming, it is believed that lack of proper planning and implementation of the measures to check crime against women led to such a rise.

Meanwhile, it is also believed that the rate of registration of cases relating to crime against women took a sharp rise following the Nirbhaya incident.