Increasing Number of Rapes in Gujarat

Tags: Crime Against Women in Gujarat, Women’s Safety, Gender Justice, Child Rape and Murder
Related Issue: Right to Dignity, Right to Security of Person, Right to Protection from Sexual Violence, Right to Life, Right to Justice
Total number of crimes against women have been increasing year after year. Anyone who thinks that Gujarat is a safe State for women will have to reconsider that opinion. From 14885 in 2010 to 15528 total crimes registered in 2011 there is an increase of 650 while the half yearly count of 2012 suggests that increase of more than 1000 crimes against women will be registered.
Rapes are also increasing. In 2001, 235 rapes were registered. In 2005 the no rose to 336. In 2010, 408 rapes were registered, in 2011, the no is 439. Up to June 2012, it is 216.
There is a myth that Gujarat is safe for women, but these rape incidents represent the actual scenario.
Whatever the hype created about governance in Gujarat, fact remains that crimes against women are increasing and among them rapes are also increasing. Worse is that Gujarat reports a very large no of cases of molestation. In 2011, 723 cases of molestation were registered while up to June 2012, 395 are already registered. Molestation is registered when the rapist does not finally succeed in overpowering his victim. It is only a little less heinous crime committed against women and that is very high in Gujarat.
Some of the incidents:
- 1. A tribal girl from Jhagadia in Bharuch district was gang raped by 12 people on February 2, 2008, when she along with her friend was on her way to attend a cultural program in her school. The tribal girl was allegedly raped by 12 persons for about two hours in the bus near the mission ground.
In another incident a poor girl student studying in Patan PTC College became victim of gang rape by her 6 teachers of the same college. The lecturers of PTC college of Patan were empowered with internal marking, took the advantage of her poverty, and raped her 14 times over a period of four months from11 September 2007 to 25 January 2008 inside the college and in the village during internship. Ironically, Ms. Anandiben Patel, the present Revenue Minister in the cabinet hailed from this constituency, was the Education Minister of Gujarat for last 10 years, which are the years of sexual exploitation of the girls’ students.
- 2. Again a rape case took place at Datar hill near Junagadh on May 13, 2007. The rapist killed the minor girl after the rape and her friend escaped after the rape in the jungle.
A 17-year old of class 12th schoolgirl was raped by 3 persons in Surat on July 12, 2009 while she was on her way to the tuition. She was picked up by the accused in their car posing as police officials, who then raped her in the vehicle.
Recently, it is noticed that very young girls of 4/5/6 years of age are raped and murdered. Gang rapes are becoming common. Gujarat does not have the high incidence of Haryana or Delhi, simply because the sex-ratio in Delhi and Haryana is more skewed than in Gujarat.
Some years earlier Sri. L K. Advani was asking for Capital Punishment for rapists as Ms Sushma Swaraj is clamouring for the same now. We think that if capital punishment is to be given the rapists would rather kill the victim than keep her alive to prove his crime. We would like to ask the police to register the crime under all offences committed along with that of rape, like wrongful confinement, grievous assault etc. We would also suggest that the judiciary should not stop at pronouncing order for seven years in jail but also add the years for other crimes registered by the police. In this the judiciary needs to follow the example of Gujarat’s Judge Ms Jyotsna Yagnik who ordered the punishments to be meted out consecutively and not concurrently. That would make the quantum of punishment heavier than what it is now. And also hope that High Courts do not reduce the years of punishment when appeals come to them.