BHUBANESWAR: The incidents of rape involving victims under the age of 18 are increasing at an alarming rate in the Smart City. A rise of almost 70 per cent in child rape cases has been recorded in the last one year.The annual crime statistics of Commissionerate Police indicated that 82 cases of rape of children were registered in the City last year compared to 49 in 2016.What has left all worried is that the rape of minors here have been constantly increasing over the last five years. While 59 cases were reported in 2015, it was 43 in 2014 followed by 27 cases in 2013.
In Cuttack too the cases soared from 28 in 2016 to 39 in 2017, however adult rape cases witnessed a decline with 17 cases reported in 2017 against 33 in 2016.Not only minor rapes, but the number of rapes of adults has also increased in the Capital. Statistics said about 43 rape cases were registered in the City in 2017 against 28 in 2016.Amidst all the gloom, there is a silver lining for the Commissionerate Police as the number of murder cases has come down in the Twin City.
About 27 murder cases were registered in 2017 against 44 in 2016 and 43 in 2015 in the Capital, 22 murder cases were reported in Cuttack in 2017 against 29 in 2016 while it was 20 in 2015. “The number of rape cases increased in Bhubaneswar, it has declined in Cuttack. But, the analysis says majority of cases are elopement in which the victims have been rescued and culprits arrested,” Police Commissioner YB Khurania told reporters.
As per the crime statistics, the number of theft cases has also increased in the Twin City. About 1,576 theft cases were registered in the Capital in 2017 against 1,420 in 2016. In Cuttack, about 579 theft cases were reported in 2017 compared to 485 cases in 2016.Another cause of concern are road accidents in the Twin City. While 600 accidents were reported in Bhubaneswar in 2017 in which about 185 people had lost their lives, 598 accidents in 2016 had claimed 186 lives.