NCRB Data: Assam records highest rate of crimes against women

By barakbulletin On September 16, 2021 - 5:37 pm

According to the annual report released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Assam recorded the highest rate of crimes against women in the country. Released on Wednesday, ‘Crime in India 2020’ report shows that the rate of crime against women in Assam was 154.3, way higher than the national rate of 56.5. Odisha came second with 112.9 and Delhi came third with 106.4. The rate is calculated according to the number of crimes reported in a population of every one lakh.

This was the fourth consecutive year that Assam has reported the highest rate of crimes against women among all states. In 2017, the rate of crime against women in Assam was 143.3, it was 166 for 2018, and 177 in 2019. The total number of cases of crime against women in Assam for 2020 stood at 26,532. Assam’s number of crime cases against women was 30,025 in 2019 and 27,687 in 2018.

In 2020, Assam recorded 26 instances of rape-cum-murder/gang rape—the third highest figure in the country after Uttar Pradesh (31) and Madhya Pradesh (27). Of the total cases of crimes against women registered in Assam last year, 11,408 were of cruelty by husband or his relatives. The state also recorded 1,496 cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of which 1,049 were of rape, 322 of sexual assault and 120 of sexual harassment. In 2019, Assam recorded 1,658 cases of rape.

In terms of the number of crimes against women, Uttar Pradesh, similar to 2019, recorded the highest number at 49,385. In India, the total number of crimes against women fell from 4,05,326 in 2019 to 3,71,503 last year, showing a decline of 8.3% from 2019. The decline in the crime rate was attributed to the COVID-19 lockdown enforced from March 25, 2020, to May 31, 2020. Under crimes against women, the majority of cases were registered under ‘cruelty by husband or his relatives’ (30.0%) followed by ‘assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’ (23.0%), ‘kidnapping and abduction of women’ (16.8%) and ‘rape’ (7.5%).