Delhi recorded fewer crimes against women in 2020 than in 2019: Police

Crimes against women declined significantly in the national capital in 2020 and the rate of solving such cases went up in comparison with 2019, Delhi Police said on Friday.

Compared with 2019, rape cases in Delhi fell by 21.63 per cent in 2020, those of molestation by 25.16 per cent and insult to modesty of women by 12.32 per cent, the police said

In 2020, 1,699 rape cases were reported in the city, down from 2,168 in 2019. A total of 2,186 cases of molestation of women were reported in 2020, as against 2,921 in 2019, they said.

The number of cases of kidnapping and abduction of women in the city last year stood at 2,938. The figure was 3,672 in 2019. There was a dip in cases of insult to the modesty of women and those under the POCSO Act, the police said.

The rate of solving such cases also increased in 2020, except for those related to kidnapping and abduction of women which was seven per cent lower in comparison with 2019, they said.

Giving further details, the police said that in 98 per cent of rape cases recorded in the city in 2020, the accused were known to the victims. In 44 per cent of such cases, the accused was among family and friends. In 12 per cent of such cases, the accused turned out to be neighbours, relatives in 14 per cent of the cases and employer or co-worker in two per cent of the cases. In 26 per cent of the cases, the accused were other known persons, the police said.

Only in two per cent of the total rapes cases, the accused were strangers, they added.

The involvement of strangers was 2.20 per cent in 2019, the police said.

In 381 cases, the accused were live-in partners or refused to marry, they said.

Delhi Police said it has identified hotspots across the city and continuously patrols them to curb crimes against women.

Bindapur, Dwarka South, New Usmanpur, Sultanpuri, Prem Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Govind Puri and Khajuri Khas are among the most affected police stations, they said.