Bhubaneswar: Crimes against women in Odisha rose by 9.95 per cent last year in comparison to the 2019 data, the sixth-highest jump in the country, according to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The rate of crime against women per 1 lakh of the female population in the state is 112.9, the second-highest in the country after Assam, the Crime in India 2020' report published by the NCRB on Tuesday said.
Altogether 25,489 cases of crime against women were registered in the state last year under the Indian Penal Code, special and local laws, a rise of 9.95 per cent from 23,183 in 2019. The number of such crimes was 20,274 in 2018 in the state. Four states - West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu - and the Union Territory of Puducherry have a higher percentage than Odisha in rise in crimes against women in 2020.
In a total number of cases of crime against women, the coastal state with a projected population of 4.55 crore in 2020 ranks seventh in the country behind Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Assam and Madhya Pradesh, the NCRB said.
Read: Crimes against women, children drop in 2020; disobedience cases go up drastically: NCRB
In Odisha, 20 women were victims of murder with rape or gang rape, while 1,211 cases were lodged under IPC Section 376 (rape). There were 3,659 cases of cruelty by husband or his relatives in 2020 when domestic violence cases shot up amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
The state registered 320 dowry deaths last year, while 312 cases were lodged under the Dowry Prohibition Act. Sixteen cases were lodged under abetment to suicide, while there were six victims of acid attack.
A total of 2,202 cases were also registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act where victims were girls. According to the NCRB report, 144 attempt-to-rape cases were lodged last year and there were 12,641 victims of assault on women with intent to outrage the modesty. It stated that 526 cases were lodged for cyber crimes against women by publishing or transmitting of sexually explicit materials or blackmailing, defamation, morphing and fake profile.
A total of 3,775 cases were lodged under kidnapping and abduction of women, while 69 cases were registered under human trafficking.
PTI
