Mumbai is considered to be one of the safest cities in India. But, a report shows that the number of rape and molestation cases reported in Mumbai hit an all-time high in 2018.
According to Mumbai Mirror, as per NGO Praja Foundation’s latest annual report on the state of policing and law and order in Mumbai, the rate of petty crimes like robbery, chain snatching, and housebreaking fell tremendously in the same period. But 792 cases of rape were reported across Mumbai for the financial year 2017-18. This is a sharp rise from last year’s count of 576. In 2013-14, 432 rape cases had been registered. The number of cases of molestation (2,358) in 2017-18 was also more than in 2015-16 (2,145).
45 percent of those who witnessed a crime reported it to the police, 25 percent of those who didn’t report it thought that it was a painful task; 19 percent of these stayed away as they didn’t have faith in the system; 19 percent cited time crunch and almost 25 percent thought they would get into trouble by going to the police, added the report.
The Praja Foundation report also shows a severe shortage of staff in the police department. As of July 2018, overall staff shortage in the police was 22 percent, with 39,588 of the sanctioned 50,465 posts filled. “Filling up these posts can result in better conviction rate. As many people hesitate to approach the police, they must be trained in soft skills to gain people’s faith,” managing trustee of the foundation, Nitai Mehta told the leading daily.
South Mumbai, which includes affluent areas like Worli, Colaba and Malabar Hill, witnessed a 172% percent increase in the number of rape complaints filed in 2018, as compared to 2013. North east Mumbai, which includes Mulund, Ghatkopar and Shivaji Nagar, saw a 99% percent increase in this time-period. Similarly, registration of molestation cases has increased in North Mumbai by 186%, North West by 148% and North Central by 91% from FY 2013-14 to FY 2017-18, stated the Praja Foundation report.
