Crimes against women galore in new-age B'lore

Cases of cruelty by husbands, molestation on the rise

As new-age Bangalore takes to streets protesting various kinds of crimes against women, victims of certain traditional crimes are losing even the little voice they had.

But the City, despite its cosmopolitan tag and global exposure continues to record huge number of such crimes. While protests about autorickshaw drivers, bus conductors etc have been taken seriously by people, Bangalore has recorded 524 cases cruelty by husbands and/or relatives on women, most of which has gone down quietly, with little noise even in the courtrooms.

Not that it is less important to raise our voices over harassment of women by drivers and other miscreants on the streets, but a section of activists believe that more traditional crimes are not coming to the fore.

According to sources in the Police Department, the number of such cases has only been going up in the City, which is making global headlines for its growth as an information technology hub. “But our mindset does not change,” a senior officer commented.

Compare the same with other commissionerates in the State and the figures stand at 32, 65 and 48, in Mysore City, Hubli-Dharwad and Mangalore, respectively.

In other cities

Bangalore’s figure (524) for 2012 has gone up by 66 as against 458 in 2011, even as the number across the state has seen a decline. In the same year, the other three commissionerates recorded, 32, 46, 43, indicating that the overall increase in all the other commissionerate areas is still miles away from Bangalore’s.

Bangalore, in fact, tops the state list with a good margin, beating even some of the remote and backward districts. But take Karnataka figures and the number is at 3,684 in 2012, which is lesser than 3,712 in 2011.

Similarly, the number of molestation cases in Bangalore also went up to 321 in 2012, while the same stood at 22, 16 and 29 in the other three commissionerates. In 2011, the number of such cases stood at 250, 23, 22 and 27 in Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad and Mangalore, respectively.

The total number of such cases in Karnataka stood at 2,978 in 2012, compared to 2,608 in 2011.

Sexual harassment

According to a report by the State Crime Records Bureau, 51 cases of sexual harassment cases were reported in Bangalore last year compared to 40 in 2011, while all the other commissionerates account only for one such case in 2012 and four in 2011.

State statistics for the said case stood at 81 and 100 in 2011 and 2012, which means Bangalore accounts for 50 per cent of such cases. Another official pointed out that the number of dowry deaths, however, have seen a marginal decrease in Bangalore.

In 2012, it is 51, two less than the number in 2011, in line with the statewide figures, even which saw a dip. Across Karnataka, the number of such cases in 2011 stood at 267 and dropped to 218 in 2012.