Madhya Pradesh continues to witness surge in crime against women

Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing a rise in crime against women, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). However, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan claimed that crimes against women have reduced by 15 per cent of the state in the past nine months since he took office.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has hardened his stance on the increasing crime, especially gang-rapes, against women in the state. Singh asked police officers to ensure that young men and women do not go missing when they go out of their natives' places in search of employment.

In his recent speeches, the BJP leader was heard giving statements like 'I will get you buried alive' and 'I will get you hanged'. News is being circulated in social media that every working woman must get registered at the local police station and that police will keep an eye on their movement, according to govt.

The development has come after the state has recorded a sharp rise in the number of cases of crime against women and opposition continuing to attack the ruling party over its alleged inaction. NCRB data suggests that 18 girls are raped in Madhya Pradesh every day and a total of 3,337 every year. In 2020, 12 gang rape and 313 cases of rape were reported in Indore alone.

Madhya Pradesh has been reporting the highest number of rape cases in the country for several years now, with maximum targets being the minor victims. The state has witnessed 45, 920 crime against women, be it rape, murder, abduction, dowry torture or molestation from January to October 2020 alone. In the last eight months, MP has seen more than 3,500 women have been tortured and 509 of them have been killed. Even during the coronavirus induced lockdown which was imposed to contain the spread of the deadly virus, the state continued to witness a surge in crime against women and what is even more appalling is that more than 11,000 women crimes were registered in different police stations of the state.

However, officials claim that a continuous campaign is run to curb this menace. Chouhan, in his recent statement, claimed that crimes against women have reduced by 15 per cent the state in the past nine months since he assumed power.

He further said that as a result of his government's efforts, around 7,100 lost girl children have been rescued. Let's have a look on the recent crime against women reported in the state which hit the headlines.

Gang rape case of Umariya

A 14-year-old girl was lured by some men. At first, they took her to a small roadside restaurant and gang-raped her. Then, she was further handed over to a few other youths. They kept raping the poor child on lonely roads. The girl finally managed and reached her father’s house in Naurozabad, where she described and complained about the accused. The police arrested 8 of the accused within 24 hours.

Widow gang-raped in Sidhi

A woman was gang-raped by three youths in the Sidhi district. The accused allegedly inserted an iron rod in a widow's private part, leaving her seriously injured. The victim was first admitted to the district hospital in a critical condition, from where she was referred to Rewa. The woman's condition is still said to be critical. However, Home Minister Narottam Mishra assured that the culprits would not be spared.

Gang rape of a minor in Gwalior

Barely hours after Sidhi crime was reported, a case of the gang rape of a minor student came to light in the Girvai police station area of Gwalior. The 16-year-old student was returning to her home with milk when three youths stopped her in the middle of the way and after taking her hostage, they dragged her to an isolated place. After that, these three accused gang-raped the student.

Gang rape in Bhopal

A case of rape of a woman has been reported just 500 meters from the police headquarters in the capital Bhopal. A 35-year-old woman returning late from the hospital was dragged to a shop by a shopkeeper. He severely beat the woman first and then raped her.

Incident in Pohri

The incident is from a village in Pohri police station area of Shivpuri, where a minor, living in the village, was abducted and raped by four friends. At around 7 pm on Wednesday evening, the minor went to the village store to get goods. When she did not return home till late night, the family members reached the Pohri police station and accused three people of the village itself. When the police took the minor's statement, she said that a young man from the village took grabbed her forcefully and took her to a secluded place, where three more companions were already present. Everyone raped her in turn.

Minor raped and murdered in Khandwa

A 13-year-old minor came to the grocery store in Dhangaon police station area of the district, after which the accused grabbed her and took her inside his house. He then proceeded to rape the girl. When she protested, he strangled her to death.