CHANDIGARH: As many as 108 cases of crime against women have been registered from January till May 15 in a city having one of best ratios for women cops in the country.
The Chandigarh Police have a strength of around 6,000 cops, with 1,200 of them women at the rank of SSP to constables. Both the posts of SSP traffic/intelligence and SP (city) are held by women.
The 16 police stations and a women police station have registered 24 cases of rape, 38 of dowry, 24 of abduction and 22 of sexual harassment and molestation.
In the entire 2021, 74 rape, 119 kidnapping and abduction, 44 sexual harassment and molestation and 95 dowry cases were registered. On the other hand, 63 rape cases were filed in 2020 that also saw registration of 89 kidnapping, 96 dowry and 47 cases of sexual harassment and molestation.
Police said in maximum cases of rape, the accused were from family, or relatives or neighbours. “As we get any complaint of rape or molestation, we file a case without any delay. In almost all cases of rape and molestation, the accused were arrested and have been lodged in jails,” said a police official. To stop harassment of women outside colleges, police said they have been putting up special nakas outside their premises.
Recently, police arrested five people in two separate cases from outside a women’s college in Sector 36. One of the students had reported she was waiting for her father outside her college to pick her up on May 2, when two persons reached in a Hyundai i20 car and started harassing her. Initially, she student ignored their activities but the accused parked their vehicle near her, played loud music, came close to her and passed lewd comments.
In the meantime, a PCR van on patrol tried to chase the accused but they managed to escape. Later, Sector 36 police arrested them from Sector 41.
In the second case, a bank manager among three people from Anandpur Sahib were arrested for allegedly molesting women outside the college on April 19. A group of students of the college alleged they were returning to the hostel from Sector 36 market, when the accused in a SUV started following them and passed lewd comments. When they objected the accused allegedly threw currency notes of Rs 20 on the women and tried to grab a phone of a student, Later, the students filed a complaint at Sector 36 police station.
