SHILLONG: In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in ratio of rape in India. Meghalaya is no different if one goes by the data reveled by Inspector General of Police in charge CID BR Rana.
According to him, a total number of 151 rape cases have been registered till September this year.
Stating that 164 rape cases were registered in 2012, Rana said the figure was 130 and 149 in 2011 and 2010 respectively. “Children below 18 years are vulnerable to such crimes,” he said.
“There has been an upward trend in rape cases in the State compared to other crimes against women and children,” Rana said while addressing a function organized to mark ‘International Campaign protesting Violence against Women’ in the city on Monday.
According to the senior police official, the State police are treating rape cases very seriously and the higher level officers at present handle rape cases.
Stating that there has been a steady of growth in crimes against women and children in the state, Rana said, “Reported cases of other crimes perpetrated against women and children in the state are 261 in 2010, 269 in 2011 and 225 in 2012.”
Rana also informed that the police department has started an outreach programme at the grass-root-level involving people and local authorities to help police in combating and preventing such crimes against women.
He informed that the police stations in the state have also structured a mechanism called the ‘citizen-committee’ where regular sittings are being held.
Speaking on the occasion, the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) chairperson Theilin Phanbuh also expressed concern over the rise in number of rape cases.
Quoting the National Crime Bureau of India data, she said only in 2011 there was 24, 206 rape cases while 42, 968 cases of molestation and other form of sexual harassment reported in the entire country. “But this is just a tip of the ice-berg because many such cases go unreported,” she said.
Stating that the violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights, Phanbuh said, “There is an urgent need to set up fast track courts to deal with such cases and maximum punishment should be awarded to the perpetrators of such crimes.”
Earlier, hundreds of people including women, students’ took out a rally to protest crimes and violence against women and children in the city to mark the day. Placards carrying different slogans on the issue were displayed by students to create awareness on the need to stop any form of violence against women.