The national capital recorded the highest number of rape cases among all 19 metropolitan cities with an average of three rapes being reported every day of the last year, a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NRCB) showed.
For the third consecutive year, Delhi topped the list of crimes against women among all the metropolitan cities. In 2021, crimes against women rose by 40% over the previous year, with 1,226 incidents of rapes and 136 incidents of dowry deaths.
In July, the city witnessed a massive outrage over the alleged gang rape of a 30-year-old woman by four railway employees inside an electrical maintenance room at the New Delhi railway station.
The city also recorded the highest incidents of crimes against children and senior citizens in the country.
In the category of crimes against women, Delhi also topped the list of metropolitan cities in cases of cruelty by husband or relatives, reporting 4,674 such instances in 2021.
Senior police officers said most incidents of rape and assault on women are carried out by people known to the victims, which are not directly preventable by the police.
“Around 95% of the crimes against women are carried out by their relatives and hence do not amount to crimes related to law and order. The police are not in direct control of such incidents,” an officer said.
Listing some of the steps taken by the police to curb crimes against women, the officer said they have been conducting self-defence training camps for women while also setting up pink booths near dark spots, which are prone to women-centric crimes, in the city.
Delhi Police PRO Suman Nalwa said, “The increase in the crime rate shows that more cases are now being registered and people are coming forward with their grievances. Several safety initiatives are being carried out with women and children in mind to curb such incidents. Training sessions are also held for senior citizens to help them from falling prey to cyber frauds.”
The city witnessed 1,166 incidents of crimes against senior citizens last year.
