Uttar Pradesh's jungle raj continues unabated

The India Executive Board of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) had recently called on the Allahabad High Court to institute and monitor an investigation into the encounter killing of Vikas Dubey and his associates, in line with the requirements laid down by the Supreme Court in the 2014 landmark judgment (PUCL v. State of Maharashtra and Ors).

Meanwhile, the Apex Court decided on an enquiry. However, nothing seems to have changed in the State to indicate an attitudinal change in the police or the government. Even diehard fans of Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of UP, would not deny that the law and order has worsened in the State in recent times. Though, the Chief Minister claims that he will rid the State of the criminal elements, the rapes and brutal killings of girls do not prove the point. What is more worrying is the fact that the Opposition is tight-lipped in most cases.

Girls and women of the marginalised sections in the State are still as insecure as they were in the past. In addition, we have the ominous silence of the Opposition. According to the annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a case of rape is registered with the Uttar Pradesh police every two hours while crime against a child is reported every 90 minutes in the State. The NCRB report, released recently, claims that 4,322 cases of rape were reported in 2018, with almost 12 taking place daily. The State also recorded 59,445 crimes against women with 162 being reported everyday which indicates a surge of 7 per cent in 2017, when 56,011 crimes - 153 crimes per day - were registered. In case of children, 144 girls were reportedly raped in 2018 against 139 in 2017. According to the NCRB report, Lucknow topped in 19 cities in crime against women with 2,736 being reported in 2018. Similarly, 19,936 crimes were reported against children with 55 reported per day in the State. In 2017, 19,145 such cases were reported with an average of 52 being reported per day. Uttar Pradesh also recorded the highest number of 2,444 dowry deaths in 2018 but witnessed a decrease of 3 per cent in comparison to 2017 when 2,524 cases were reported. Crimes against senior citizens also recorded an increase, according to the NCRB report. As many as 454 offences were reported in 2018, which is more than 12 per cent in 2017.

Nearly 131 elderly people were murdered in 2018, compared to 129 killed in 2017. Cases of robbery reported by senior citizens also registered a slight increase with 15 incidents in 2018 and 14 in 2017. The State also saw an increase in cases of cybercrimes in 2018. Nearly 6,280 cybercrime cases were reported in 2018, an increase of 26 per cent as compared to 2017. The DGP had yet another defence too when he said that the crimes must be seen in the context of the population of the State. The CHRI should have asked for an investigation into the crumbling law and order situation itself. UP has turned into a jungle raj. The Centre is not bothered because of its compulsions and the State has its own agenda. May 'Lord Ram' save the people of UP!