RTI reveals 229 rapes and 8 gang rapes occurred in Mumbai in 8 months
13 Dec, 2013
An application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get the details about the number of cases of sexual assault including the incidences of gang rapes in Mumbai over past few years.
The reply to the application shows that Mumbai has witnessed 237 rape cases in the first eight months of 2013 including 8 gang rape cases. The applicant, Anil Galgali, has expressed the apprehension that the number is likely to increase by the end of the year, as in November only two cases of gang rapes of minors were reported. The data provided in the RTI reply shows that in 2012, 223 rape cases and 8 gang rape cases were reported. Similarly, 211 rape cases and 9 gang rapes were reported in the city while the figures for 2010 stood at 188 and 7 respectively.
The RTI activists have alleged that decrease in police presence on streets and reduction in frequency of nakabandis over the years have added to the peril of women in the city. However, Mumbai Police claims that the city is the safest of all cities in the country contending that incidents like Shakti Mills gangrapes are rare and most of the rape cases pertained to situations where the culprit was closely associated with the victims i.e. friends, lovers, relatives or neighbours.