Mumbai: Women’s Safety In Peril: Mumbai Tops List For Molestation And Rape Cases Against Women Followed By Pune And Nagpur

Mumbai, 19th September 2023: In the latest information shared by the Maharashtra Police Department website, it is revealed that crimes related to women are continuously being reported in the state, and there has been a continuous increase in cases of rape, molestation, kidnapping, and domestic violence against women in the state.

In these cases, the highest number of cases of molestation and rape of women and girls have been reported in Mumbai, followed by Pune and Nagpur. Therefore, this increasing trend has again brought the issue of women’s safety to the fore in the state.

The current state government has promised to prioritise women’s and child safety in the state. However, looking at the current number of such cases, the government’s claim does not seem promising. There has been a four-fold increase in rape and molestation cases against women in Mumbai as compared to other districts.

In the last eight months, 1 thousand and 254 incidents of molestation have been reported alone in Mumbai city. During the same period, the Mumbai Police registered the crime of rape of 549 women and girls. Also, there has been a two-time increase in cases of crimes like family violence, dowry, etc. in the city.

After Mumbai, Pune has registered 364 cases of molestation and 124 cases of rape in the same time period. Nagpur, along with 304 incidents of molestation and 165 incidents of rape, ranks third in this list. This trend is even more alarming considering two deputy chief ministers, i.e., Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, hail from Pune and Nagpur, respectively.

Surprisingly, from the lists provided by the Maharashtra police, it has come to light that among the women and girls who have fallen victim to molestation, hazing, or teasing, a large number constitute school-going girls. College youths and roadside Romeos are the most accused in these cases.

Though this number is significantly large, considering the women’s safety situation in the state, the state needs to be even more cautious taking into consideration of the fact that not all such cases get reported to the police. It has come to light that, most of the time, the police discourage young women from registering a crime for fear of stigmatisation in society.