Even as the national capital retained the title of India's "rape capital", the number of crime shot up by nearly 26 per cent in 2014 as compared to the previous year, the latest National Crime Records Bureau data shows. The country's largest state, Madhya Pradesh, topped the list among the 36 states and union territories, while Nagaland was found to be the safest for women with 30 cases.
The sharp rise in the number of cases of rape in the national capital was much more than the country's nearly 11 per cent rise. The number of cases of rape in India increased to 37,413 (per one lakh of the population) in 2014 from 33,707 in 2013.
Shockingly, as per the NCRB data, 524 girls under the age of six became rape victims across the country.
Among the 53 top cities listed by the NCRB, Delhi stood first again as far as the number of rapes in 2014 is concerned.
As per the NCRB statistics for 2014, Delhi reported as many as 1,813 rape cases (per one lakh of the population), followed by Mumbai with 607 rape cases. With three rape cases, Tiruchirappali emerged as the safest city for women. (Link to the official data).
Ironically, Delhi had topped the list in 2013 as well with 1,441 cases of rape per one lakh of the population.
Among the states, the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh finished at the top with the highest 5,076 reported cases of rape in 2014. It was followed by another BJP-ruled state Rajasthan with 3,759 cases of rape.
The Samajwadi Party ruled Uttar Pradesh, which also often makes it to headlines over the incidents of sexual crimes against women, recorded a count of 3,467 cases, closely followed by Maharashtra at 3,438 rapes. Uttar Pradesh, however, witnessed the highest number of cases of custodial rape, which stood at 189. (Link to the official data)
While north-eastern state Nagaland recorded the lowest cases of rape in 2014, Assam had a contrasting figure of 1,980 incidents during the year.
A comparison between the statistics of 2013 and 2014 shows how the situation worsened over the year:
CASES OF RAPE IN CITIES
CITY 2014 2013
Delhi 1,813 1,441
Mumbai 607 391
Bengaluru 104 80
Kolkata 36 75
Chennai 65 83
Bhopal 178 131
Hyderabad 126 101
Indore 185 133
Jaipur 263 192
Nagpur 113 91
Pune 189 171
Ahmedabad 100 116
CASES OF RAPE IN STATES
STATE 2014 2013
Madhya Pradesh 5,076 4,335
Rajasthan 3,759 3,285
Uttar Pradesh 3,467 3,050
Maharashtra 3,438 3,063
Delhi 2,096 1,636
Assam 1,980 1,937
Nagaland 30 31
Bihar 1,127 1,128
Chhattisgarh 1,436 1,380
Gujarat 841 732
Haryana 1,174 971
Karnataka 1,324 1,030
Odisha 1,978 1,832
Punjab 981 888
Tamil Nadu 1,110 923
West Bengal 1,466 1,685
