Uttarakhand tops hill states with maximum cases of rape, child abuse, says NCRB report
Himachal Pradesh reported the second highest number of rape cases -- 331 followed by Tripura with 79 such cases. Among other Himalayan states, Meghalaya reported 67 cases and Mizoram 33 cases.
Uttarakhand registered the maximum number of cases of rape and child sexual abuse among the nine Himalayan states, revealed the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on crime in India for the year 2020.
According to the data in the NCRB report on crimes against women, which was released on Tuesday night, Uttarakhand reported 487 cases of rape in 2020 which was the highest among the nine Himalayan states which include Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
Close on the heels of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh reported the second highest number of rape cases -- 331 followed by Tripura with 79 such cases. Among other Himalayan states, Meghalaya reported 67 cases and Mizoram 33 cases.
Similarly, in the total number of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2020, Uttarakhand once again topped the tally among all the Himalayan states with a figure of 573 cases followed by Meghalaya with 328 cases and Tripura with 143 cases. Neighbouring Himachal Pradesh reported the least number of cases --5, among all the Himalayan states as per the NCRB report.
Among the other major Himalayan states, Mizoram reported 105 cases while Sikkim reported 98 cases under the POCSO Act.
The NCRB report also indicated that Uttarakhand registered a total of 1282 cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in the year 2020. It was the second highest among all the Himalayan states after Himachal Pradesh which reported the maximum number of cases-- 1538 in the same year.
Drug trafficking is one of the major crimes found in Uttarakhand with the state police running a campaign to nab traffickers. The Uttarakhand government also recently announced that it will soon form a new anti-drug policy to “curb the menace” in the state.
Inspector general Amit Sinha who is also the chief spokesperson of the police headquarters in Dehradun, reacting to the revelations of the NCRB report on Uttarakhand said, “The number of cases of rape and those lodged under POCSO is reportedly high because the state police have been taking those incidents very seriously and registering such cases without any delay to nab the accused.”
“Reporting of such cases by the victims too has increased with the hope of justice which is the top priority of the state police in such cases,” Sinha said.