40 rapes in a month in Sukhbir's ‘safe’ Punjab!

Monday, 21/01/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/40-rapes-in-a-month-in-safe-Punjab.html

CHANDIGARH: Even though Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would like to portray Punjab as the “safest state” in the country, the latest statistics of crime against women fly in the face of his tall claims.

As per a report, as many as 10 rape cases are reported every week and 40 per month in the state. Apart from this, there are an equal or perhaps more number of cases that go unreported due to several reasons.

Even if we take the recent figures into consideration, Punjab definitely is among the top most unsafe states of the country today with as many as 39 cases of rapes, at least 12 molestation cases and several abduction cases of girls have been widely reported by the state’s media over the past 45 days.

The figure is just the tip of the iceberg as numerous other cases were either not highlighted by the media or went unreported for various reasons.

As per information obtained under the RTI Act, as many as 4,974 rape cases have been registered in the past 10 years (2002-2012). Shockingly, investigations in 251 rape cases is still pending while in 309 cases, the accused could not be traced. As many as 479 cases were cancelled.

These are the figures till August 2012. There has been a sudden spate of crimes against women in the state over the past four months.

As per another report, on an average, about 12 to 15 rape cases are heard every day in the district courts of Patiala, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Chandigarh.

The most recent incidents that hit national headlines include the gangrape and consequent suicide of a 17-year-old in Patiala; gagnrape of a 29-year-old married woman on a moving bus in Gurdaspur; molestation of a cop’s daughter and his murder in Amritsar; abduction of a 15-year-old school girl at gun pointy from her home in Faridkot.

Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who also heads the home portfolio, avoided any reference to crimes against women in the state during his speech in the Punjab Legislative assembly in the last session wherein he made tall claims that Punjab was the “safest state in the country”.

Shockingly, even the official website of the Punjab Police does not depict the number of rape and molestation cases, reflecting upon the widespread callousness and apathetical attitude of the law enforcement agencies towards crime against women.

RECENT RAPE CASES

1. Jan 19 –12-yr-old rape victim of Ludhiana found pregnant
2. Jan 18 - 17-year-old girl raped by a fellow villager in Hoshiarpur
3. Jan 15 - Minor molested in Sangrur
   
4. Jan 13 - 14-yr-old raped near Nangal
   
5. Jan 12 - 29-yr-old woman kidnapped, gangraped on bus in Gurdaspur
   
6. Jan 9 –20-year -old girl raped in Pathankot
   
7. Jan 8 - Two minor girls raped in Gurdaspur
   
8. Jan 8 – Minor kidnapped, raped in Faridkot
   
9. Jan 8 – Man held for raping a girl for 2 years in Jalanadhar
   
10. Jan 8 –Woman abducted, raped in Batala
    
11. Jan 7 - An Army man arrested for raping a minor girl in Sangrur
    
12. Jan 2 – 13-year-old gangraped in Ludhiana
    
13. Jan 2 – 7-year-old raped, murdered
    
14. Jan 1- 6-year-old raped in Moga
    
15. Jan 1 - 40-year-old raped in Amritsar
    
16. Dec 31 –2 rapes reported in Bathinda
    
17. Dec 30 – Sangrur – rapist arrested for rape on oct 16
    
18. Dec 30 - Minor gangraped repeatedly, blackmailed and threatened,
    
19. found 7-months pregnant in Jalandhar
    
20. Dec 29 –20-year-old reports rape after 3 months
    
21. Dec 29 – Bank employee molested in full public view in Jalandhar
    
22. Dec 29 -14-year-old raped by truck driver in Fatehgarh Sahib
    
23. Dec 28- 38-year-old woman succumbed to injuries received in rape bid in Nawanshahr
    
24. Dec 27 – Molestation of mentally challenged woman by relatives for 4 yrs comes to light in Nawanshahr
    
25. Dec 27 –Gangraped, threatened, 17-year-old kills self in Patiala
    
26. Dec 26 – 55-year-old man arrested for raping 2 minors in Bathinda
    
27. Dec 26 –13-year-old raped in Ferozepur
    
28. Dec 25 – Minor raped in Bathinda
    
29. Dec 23 – One rape reported in Amritsar
    
30. Dec 23 –Minor molested, given poison in Amritsar
    
31. Dec 21– 3 booked for gangraping a married woman after 3 months
    
32. Dec 20 - Village head arrested for raping 25-year-old girl for five years in Bathinda
    
33. Dec 20 – Woman raped in Abohar
    
34. Dec 20 – Three minor girls abducted in Ludhiana
    
35. Dec 5 –13-year-old girl raped, murdered in Gurdaspur