Odisha has reported four incidents of rape in the last three days. Three of them gangrape. A woman in her 50s, two minor girls and a teenage college student were the victims of the heinous crimes that have rocked the state. The college girl, from Balasore, was out on a scooter when she was raped by youth who followed her.
The other cases are equally horrific in nature. The minor girl, all of 14, was kidnapped from Nabarangpur’s Papadahandi and taken to neighbouring Koraput district where she was gangraped for three days by the two perpetrators. In all but one, the accused have been arrested.
But that is not the point here. What is disturbing is the new low that law and order has hit in the state, so much so that criminals seem unafraid of the police. Just picture such a scenario in Uttar Pradesh and the outrage it would have unleashed. If brute facts matter, then Odisha reported 1,211 cases of rape in 2020 against 1,382 in the previous year. Going by the NCRB report, the rate of crime against women at 113 offences per 1 lakh population in Odisha is second only to Assam’s 154. The state, once considered the safest, registered a near 10% rise in crimes against women in a year during the better part of which the country was in lockdown. The same year, with 12,605 cases, Odisha topped the country in the category of assault on women in an attempt to outrage modesty.
The Odisha Police top brass is quick to claim brownie points for its good work—and rightfully so. But it must also be held accountable for this plunging safety scenario for women. There has also been a spate of custodial violence in the last six months. The state capital Bhubaneswar has reported some chilling crimes including a rise in gruesome murders. Odisha continues to be among the top 10 states in terms of sexual offences against girl children. This trend must shake the Naveen Patnaik administration out of its slumber. It has had to its credit a set of reforms and out-of-the-box initiatives to stem the rot when crimes against women, especially minor girls, saw an increase in the past. It must ensure that a lax police system does not spoil the good work.