Bhubaneswar: At a time when crimes against women are increasing year by year, the rate of disposal and punishment in such cases is very low across the country, including Odisha. This is mentioned in the recently released statistics of the Central Government’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
At the beginning of 2022, there were 23,66,602 cases related to crimes against women awaiting trial across the country, while in Odisha, the number of such cases was 1,76,965. Last year, 38,136 of such cases were punished in the country, while the accused were acquitted in 1,05,080, according to a report by Crime in India.
Overall, the conviction rate in criminal cases against women is 25.3 per cent across the country, while in Odisha it is only 9.2 per cent. It is worth mentioning here that the conviction rate in these types of cases is 70.8 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 68 per cent in Mizoram and 60.9 per cent in Bihar.
However, it is reassuring for Odisha that the conviction rate in these types of cases is 9.2 per cent in Odisha, 5.3 per cent in Gujarat, 4.8 per cent in Assam, 4.5 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 5.6 per cent in Karnataka, 8.9 per cent in West Bengal and 6.7 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir. However, arunachal, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep etc. have recorded conviction rates ranging from 40 to 67 per cent.
The rate of disposal of criminal cases against women has been dismal at the national level, including in Odisha. In such cases, the all-India decision rate is 7.7 per cent, while in Odisha it is 4.2 per cent. Other states which have fared worse than Odisha in this regard include Arunachal, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi and Puducherry. Andhra Pradesh accounted for 21.7 per cent and Sikkim 29.2 per cent.
Both the Central and State Governments are attaching great importance to the empowerment and safety of women. Some special laws have also been enacted for this. The number of police stations, out-posts, jails, courts are increasing across the country including Odisha and more and more money is being allocated in the budget.
Yet, violence against women and other crimes are on rise. In a large number of cases, the accused will escape, and in most of the few cases where punishment is being done, the punishment is meager as the offenders are running out of time by appealing. Criminals are taking advantage of the delayed trial system as more than 90 per cent of the cases are being tried and it becomes a practice to go back to the next year, resulting in the destruction of evidence and weakening of cases.
According to the latest report by Crime in India, as of the beginning of this year, 21,84,769 of the criminal cases against women across the country are awaited, while in Odisha, the number is 1,69,572. West Bengal has more than 3.5 lakh cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 2.72 lakh and Maharashtra at 2.71 lakh. Odisha ranks fourth in terms of criminal cases against women, according to an analysis of the report.