Over the past two weeks, horrific cases of rape and murder have been reported from Uttar Pradesh, enough to tag it the 'rape capital of India'.
Recent spate of rape cases in Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur-Kheri and Gorakhpur are a proof that girls and women are not safe in Uttar Pradesh. These incidents highlight the reigning lawlessness and a lack of fear of law among criminals in the state.
Back in 2017, when Yogi Adityanath took oath as state chief minister, 'Anti-Romeo Squads' for crackdown on molestation were formed with much fanfare. However, it did little to check crimes against women in the state.
Even as India is grappling under a pandemic, earlier reports suggest that there was a decline in crimes against women across the country, primarily because of the nationwide lockdown.
The country witnessed a significant drop in the number of rape cases during the lockdown period, however domestic violence against women witnessed a surge. Activists suggest this is no reason to cheer since most women were in no position to report the crime.
Multiple reports and data reflects most crimes against women are committed by people known to them, such as relatives and friends. Low numbers during lockdown could actually mean that cases may have increased, but not reported.
Lesser reporting does not translate into a decline in crime or a change in mentality overnight. As the curbs are easing, more and more cases are being reported.
What is happening in Uttar Pradesh is formidable. In the last few days, the state has witnessed a spate of crimes against women and children. Take a look:
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly drugged, gang-raped and pushed into flesh trade in Varanasi. The minor girl managed to escape her captor and filed a police complaint. The girl, while narrating her ordeal, stated she was brought to Varanasi from her village in Mirzapur for employment at a beauty parlour. She joined work on day one. After working for a fortnight, the owner began drugging her and gave sedatives. She was eventually pushed into the flesh trade.?
She was first sexually assaulted by a youth there and later, a dozen men raped her.
The survivor has named 12 people, including three women, for exploiting her.?
In another incident which took place on August 25, a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida. The accused was arrested after a gunfight.
The incident took place in Ecotech 3 police station area on Tuesday afternoon after which an FIR was lodged, and the accused was identified and nabbed on Wednesday, the officials said.
"The case was challenging as the accused was wearing a face mask at the time of the crime and there was no eyewitness of the incident. The victim too had seen the accused for the first time. Police teams swung into action and the accused was identified," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Women Safety) Vrinda Shukla said.
"When a police team reached the location of the accused, he tried to run away from the spot. He also opened fire on the team in his bid to escape but was overpowered and caught," Shukla said.
A six-year-old was kidnapped and raped in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district earlier this month. The girl was kidnapped from outside her home in the Garhmukteshwar area, less than 100 KM from Delhi, reportedly by a man on a motorcycle.
When she was reported missing by her parents, the police launched a search. She was found next morning, unconscious and blood-soaked in, behind bushes, not far from her village.
A medical examination confirmed rape. Doctors said the girl may have to go through multiple surgeries before she gets fine again.
A 13-year-old girl was gangraped and killed in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri on August 14. The victim's body was found in a sugarcane field reportedly owned by one of the accused after a brief search by her family.
The family of the girl alleged that his daughter had been strangled. He also alleged that her tongue was cut and eyes gouged out. However, the police refuted the claim.
The spine-chilling incident took place near a village bordering Nepal.
"The post-mortem report stated the cause of the girl's death was strangulation after rape," Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Dhaurahra, Abhishek Pratap.
In a second case in the past 10 days from Lakhimpur Kheri in UP, a 17-year-old Dalit girl who had stepped out to fill the scholarship application was brutally raped and murdered.?
The girl's mutilated body was found near a dry pond around 200 metres away from her village in Neemgaon. The police said she was killed using a sharp weapon.
There were injury marks around her neck with a part of her leg appearing to have been eaten by some stray animal, police said.
Superintendent of Police Satendra Kumar Singh told reporters that her post-mortem has confirmed rape.
Police arrested a man on August 18 for raping his 15-year-old cousin. The matter came to light after the girl was taken to a hospital as she complained of stomach ache. Doctors revealed that the girl was seven months pregnant.
The girl told police that she was continuously raped by her cousin who also threatened to kill her if she spoke about it.
A class 7 student was allegedly raped by a manager of her school who also made a video of her and threatened to post it on social media if she reported the matter to anyone. The incident took place on July 30.?
On July 30, school manager Harendra Yadav (38) called the 15-year-old girl to his house and allegedly raped her, police said, adding that the accused is on the run and a case has been registered against him.
The accused had made a video of the incident and was blackmailing the girl saying her father would kill her if she told him about the incident.
Police said the accused asked the girl to live at his house in the city and study from there.
After a few days, the girl, however, disclosed it to her family.
A man has been booked or allegedly raping a minor sister of his elder brother¡¯s wife and then marrying her by threatening her and her mother before giving her triple talaq.
On a complaint by the victim¡¯s mother, belonging to a village under Budhana police station of Muzaffarnagar district, accused Momin has been booked under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and sections 9, 10 and 11 of the Prevention of Child Marriage Act.
After the registration of the case against him, Momin has gone missing but the police have launched a manhunt to nab him, according to a report by PTI.
A sadhu reportedly attempted to rape a minor boy at his ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya district. The incident came to light some 10 days ago.?
Reports suggested that the sadhu also tried to chop off the child's private parts for resisting sexual assault.
A report by News 18 Hindi said the? 14-year-old boy managed to free himself from the sadhu and ran away from the ashram. The sadhu has been identified as Ramsevak Das.?
The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh has increased by 20% from 2016 to 2019.
As per the NCRB report for 2017 released in October 2019, 56011 cases of crime against women were reported while the number surged to 59, 445 in 2018.
In 2018, 3,946 rape cases were registered involving 4, 322 victims, including 1411 minors. In 2017, Uttar Pradesh reported 4246 rape cases¡ªsecond highest in the country after Madhya Pradesh, in which victims were minor in almost 1560 cases.
While the Yogi government claims that the state government has zero tolerance for criminals, especially rapists, crimes against women is on the rise.
The NCRB figures from 2018 suggest that on an average 12 women/girls were raped in the state.
The lack of deterrence of law is among the many reasons why rapes continue to happen. Despite stricter laws, modified over time, crimes against women have witnessed little decline.