New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent a notice to the Rajasthan government and the state’s police chief over complaints alleging an “exponential increase” in incidents of crime against women there, officials said on Friday.
Allegedly 80,000 cases were registered in the state pertaining to crimes against women in the last one year. Out of these, more than 12,000 are rape cases, the NHRC said in a statement. Furnishing press clippings in support of the allegations, the commission has requested for intervention in the matter, the officials said.
The NHRC has “taken cognisance of complaints alleging that there has been an exponential increase in the incidents of crime against women in Rajasthan,” it said. The commission has observed that the allegations and the incidents appear to be “serious in nature”, indicating violation of human rights, it added.
It appears that there has been “unabated crime against women” in the state, which raises a question mark on the efficacy of the state machinery in curbing such crimes. It is the cardinal duty of the state to protect the rights of the women and punish the perpetrators without fail, the NHRC said.
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“Accordingly, the commission has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police, Rajasthan, directing them to enquire into the specific incidents and submit an action-taken report mentioning each of the incidents to the commission within four weeks,” the statement said.
“They shall also inform the commission about the steps being taken by the state for inspiring confidence in the women and the girls ensuring their safety and security in the state,” it added.
Highlighting the state of affairs with regards to crimes against women, the complainant has drawn the attention of the commission towards some of the several incidents that have allegedly happened in the last one month and has requested for its intervention in the matter, the NHRC said.
These incidents include kidnapping of a minor girl in Jalore on March 22, 2021 and self-immolation by the mother of the victim because of inaction of the authorities, and gang rape of a minor in Kota by more than 30 persons between February 25, 2021 and March 6, 2021 this year, the statement said. It also mentioned an incident in which a “gang rape victim was burnt alive at Hanumangarh on March 5”.