Relatives accused in half of rape cases in last three years, reveals police data
Shimla. Of the total 1,123 rape cases registered in Himachal Pradesh in the last three years, the accused are relatives in 48.5 percent cases. This information has been given in the data received from the State Police Department. Of the total 545 cases, relatives—fathers/stepfathers in 10 percent, cousins in 6 percent, grandfathers in 1.4 percent, uncles in 6.6 percent and other relatives in 75.7 percent—were accused, according to the data.
A total of 1,123 rape cases were registered in the state from January 2020 to October 2022 (1,034 days), which means that on an average one rape case is registered in the state every day. Of these, 48.5 per cent rapes were committed by acquaintances (relatives), 27.1 per cent during friendship, 16.5 per cent by false promise of marriage, three per cent during ‘live in relationship’ and 4.6 per cent by unknown persons.
Sanjay Pathak, chief executive officer of the Himachal Pradesh State Mental Health Authority (HPSMHA), said, “The involvement of relatives in rape cases indicates mental illness. Easy access to obscene material through mobiles especially in adolescence also leads to such acts.
He said that usually the accused target people known to them and they feel that the victims will not complain or they can be persuaded not to complain. According to police officials, there are about 55 repeat sex offenders in the state and 553 (18.6 per cent) of the total inmates currently lodged in Himachal Pradesh’s 14 jails have cases of crime against women.
Officials said that the police department has set up women’s help desk number 1091 for grievance redressal, women’s police stations have started functioning in all the districts of the state except Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur. He informed that apart from installation of CCTVs, the department has also launched “Veerangana on Wheels” scheme across the state to combat crime against women.
Police said that to reduce this type of crime, there is a great need to organize awareness programs under the aegis of Panchayati Raj Institutions and sensitive educational institutions. Police said that civic groups and NGOs should be encouraged to raise awareness in the society.
