A preliminary report from the Hindustan Times on rape in Delhi showed a disturbing doubling of reported cases in the Indian capital in 2013 so far: there have been 806 reported rapes from the start of the year until June 20th, as opposed to 330 reports in 2012.
The Delhi Police reported that the eastern district of the capital had the most cases, topping out at 122, followed by the Southeast district with 106 incidences.
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The jump could be attributed to changes in police procedures, which are meant to encourage more women to come forward and report assaults in the wake of a spate of exceptionally public rape cases in the capital.
“The Delhi police are sensitive to crimes against women, and all police stations have been directed to register FIRs in such cases,” said Deepak Mishra, special commissioner of police.
“More women are coming forward to file complaints. Over 95 percent of cases have been solved,” he added.
In 2012, the number of rape cases reported Delhi increased by 23 percent, while the National Crime Bureau reported a three percent national increase in rapes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
706 rape cases were reported in Delhi in 2012 in total, as opposed to 572 in 2011.
Delhi also recorded more reported rapes than Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai combined, added the WSJ.
10 percent of those reported rape cases in Delhi were committed by strangers, according to the DailyBhaskar. Research suggests that vast majority of rapes are committed by people victims know, which makes these new figures particularly disquieting.
A deaf and speech-impaired 13-year-old girl was gang-raped on Saturday in Delhi, the city’s latest widely reported rape. Officials are currently searching for the perpetrators, according to the Times of India.
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