Bengal tops wife-beat list

Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, TT, New Delhi: Bengal topped the list of cases of domestic violence against women and trafficking of girls in 2016, data released by the National Crime Records Bureau has revealed.

The place on the list need not reflect the true picture on the ground. More complaints may be registered in states where victims find the law enforcement system responsive and do not fear retribution.

Bengal is second only to Uttar Pradesh in the total number of crimes against women reported last year. Uttar Pradesh reported 14.5 per cent (49,262) of the total cases followed by Bengal, which reported 9.6 per cent (32,513) of the cases.

According to the NCRB figures, which were released on Thursday by Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Bengal had witnessed 3,579 cases of human trafficking, sharing nearly 44 per cent of the total cases (8,132).

In terms of incidents of cruelty by a husband or his relatives, Bengal reported maximum number of cases at 19,302, followed by Rajasthan (13,811) and Uttar Pradesh (11,156).

According to the NCRB data, cases of crime against women have reported an increase of 2.9 per cent across the country in a year from 2015. A majority of these cases were reported under the "cruelty by husband or his relatives" (32.6 per cent) category, followed by assault on women with intent to outraging modesty (25 per cent), kidnapping and abduction of women (19 per cent) and rape (11.5 per cent).

A senior Bengal official posted in Delhi agreed that the figure of domestic violence, especially cruelty by husbands and relatives, on women was on the rise in the state. "But rape and molestation figures suggest crime against women is on the decline in Bengal."