4 rapes or gang rapes daily in Jan-Sep in Bihar, says data

Patna:Four cases of rape or gang rape have been recorded daily in Bihar from January 2020 till September, with police stations in 43 police districts of the state registering a total of 1,106 such cases, sources in the Police Department said.

As per the data accessed by IANS, June witnessed a maximum of 152 cases, July 149 cases and August 139 cases. As per the data, 88 cases were registered in January, 105 in February, 129 in March, 82 in April, 120 in May, and 142 in September.

Besides rape and gang-rape incidents, 6 to 7 cases of eve-teasing and molestation or blackmailing are also registered in different police stations of Bihar.

A senior police officer in Patna opined that rape or gang rape was also a social issues, apart from criminal aspect. "Hence, we have directed the SPs of all districts to initiate social campaigns, especially in rural areas, to educate the youth about the crime," he said.

According to officials, nearly 1,800 online complaints have been registered with the police control room. The officer said that 90 per cent of the complaints are not converted into FIRs, which is the harsh reality in Bihar.

"During police investigations, victims hesitate to come forward to register the FIR and pursue the cases due to social issues. Also, known persons or relatives are the accused in majority of such cases. Despite such situations, we do counselling of each victim of eve-teasing, molestation, or rape. It's up to the victims whether to pursue the case or not," said Pramila Kumari," Project Manager, women helpline.

Among the rape and gang-rape cases reported in recent times was the one in which a 15-year-old Dalit girl of Peero village in Bhojpur district was allegedly violated by our youths on December 15 after she went to a river bank.

Her family alleged that the accused not only brutalised her but their kin also physically assaulted them and made caste-related remarks. Moreover, local police delayed medical examination of the victim.

On December 9, a 16-year-old girl was kidnapped and gang-raped in Banka district. On October 19, three men gang-raped a 19-year-old woman in Bihar's Kishanganj district.

"We have put police on high alert in cases of crimes against women. We have directed police officers to register FIRs as soon as possible and provide all possible support and counselling to the victims, apart from cracking the cases," Banka SP Arvind Gupta.

"In case of the gang rape of 16-year-old girl, we immediately constituted a team to conduct raids at different hideout of the accused and cracked the case within a few days," Gupta said.